India’s Military Space Program
India has begun its unmanned RISAT-2 spacecraft based radar imaging program with the April 20, 2009 launch of a copy of the all-weather Israeli radar imaging surveillance program satellite TecSAR they had purchased for $200 million. This is to be utilized to address defense border security issues for India.
The Radar Imaging Spacecraft RISAT-2
This new synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging spacecraft unlike the other daylight or infrared imaging spacecraft can see through all weather conditions as well as any deceptive measures taken by a would be adversary. It full capabilities are not fully known but are believed to be even greater than publicly understood. The 300 kilogram spacecraft designed and built by the Israeli Aerospace Industries consists of a six & four sided main satellite bus for its power and instrumentation on which is mounted two, two panel solar arrays and a 4.572 meter diameter bleached white gold mesh deployable radar gimbals mounted SAR dish with a fine focus capability feed array. The main body of the spacecraft below the dish consists of a six sided “payload module”, followed by the box shaped four sides “bus module” with “star tracker navigation equipment” and “propulsion RCS systems”. It has a three year design life and was placed in a near circular 550 kilometer earth orbit with a 41 degree inclination by the ISRO Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
Immediate Top Priority Program
Pushed by Indian immediate national security concerns that it not fall behind in intelligence surveillance advantage operational issues has sparked the Indian governments actions and its military with its security requirements responsibility on these programs. Literally wartime like emergency requirements was applied to get this program moving on the path to launch as quickly as possible.
Other existing and Duel Purpose Military Imaging Spacecraft
This is in addition to their new higher resolution daylight imaging spacecraft launched in 2008 and the existing low and medium resolution remote sensing satellites already being utilized by Indian Intelligence organization for the State and military.
