Article Posted on : - Apr 27, 2010

A graphical illustration of Cartosat-2B satellite. A ISRO Photo.

BANGALORE (PTI): India's advanced, high-resolution remote-sensing satellite Cartosat-2B would be launched on May 9 at 9.23 am from Sriharikota spaceport, ISRO said Tuesday.

"It will be launched at 9.23 am on May 9 by PSLV-C15," Indian Space Research Organisation spokesperson S Satish told PTI.

The highly agile satellite is expected to give a boost to the tasks of infrastructure and urban planning. The on-board camera would provide scene specific spot imageries for cartographic and a host of other civilian applications.

Satish said the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle would carry on-board four more satellites along with the Cartosat-2B -- an Algerian satellite weighing 117 kg, one nano satellite each from Canada and Switzerland, and StudSat, a pico satellite (under one KG) developed by engineering students from Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Weighing around 700 kg, Cartosat-2B is designed for an operational life of five years and would give pictures of 0.8 metre resolution.

Meanwhile, ISRO has constituted a failure analysis committee to probe the recent failure of the GSLV-D3 mission whose main objective was to flight-test the indigenous cryogenic engine and stage for the first time.

S Ramakrishnan, ISRO's Director (Projects) at Thiruvananthapuram-based Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, would chair the committee, which has been asked to submit the report within two months, sources in the space agency said.

The national panel of experts which included former chairmen of ISRO and eminent personalities, would then look into the report and the recommended corrective measures. This panel, after a thorough review, had given the go-ahead for the GSLV-D3 mission.