The Hindu Business Line : Oceansat-2 put in orbit

Bangalore, Sept. 23 Oceansat-2, the nation’s second remote sensing satellite meant to study ocean atmosphere, was launched into its planned orbit on Wednesday.

The event, described by ISRO as “precise and excellent,” also achieved a rare seven-in-one launch: the Indian-built PSLV booster released six tiny foreign educational satellites in sequence over 20 minutes soon after it placed Oceansat-2 in the designated pole-to-pole orbit at a distance of 720 km above ground.

The launch took place at 11.51 a.m. (IST) Early signals showed that the satellites were healthy, ISRO said.

Wednesday’s feat validates the ISRO workhorse as a reliable vehicle for global customers, said the ISRO Chairman, Mr G. Madhavan Nair.

In service from October 1994, the PSLV launcher is ISRO’s showpiece in the highly competitive, niche market for space transportation. ISRO is known to provide launch services at a minimum of 30 per cent lower than international costs. This time, it cut the launch cost by Rs 20 crore with a no-frills, pared down rocket.

The PSLV also lifted the lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 in October 2008 to over four lakh km.

Climate study

Oceansat-2 is one of the few international missions that exclusively study marine atmosphere, coastal climate and wind speed.

It replaces Oceansat-1 which was launched in 1999. It was built at a cost of Rs 160 crore.

According to ISRO, Oceansat-1 nearly revolutionised fish zone prediction and the information it gave fishermen through rural societies helped to double fishing catches.

The 960-kg Oceansat-2, with a design life of five years, continues this service. Data from it, along with information from other Indian remote sensing satellites (IRSs), are in demand internationally.

MINI PASSENGERS

The rocket has, so far, launched 39 satellites - 17 full-sized Indian craft weighing up to 2 tonnes; and 22 smaller satellites from abroad from 2 to 300 kg, for a fee. ISRO also has the GSLV that lifts larger satellites up to 36,000 km distance for an Earth-fixed configuration over the Equator.

Riding with Oceansat-2 were six nanosats ranging from 2 to 8 kg, totalling 20 kg. Of them, four ‘Cubesats’ are from Switzerland and two ‘Rubin’ satellites are from Germany.

In April 2008, the PSLV achieved a record launch of ten satellites along with Cartosat-2A, an Indian IMS-1 and eight small foreign satellites.

Oceansat-2 carries three instruments – an Ocean Colour Monitor that films a sweep of 1420 km; a Scatterometer to read wind speed; and an Italian-made ROSA which is a GPS receiver for atmospheric sounding.

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