India Aims To Launch Cartostat-2B In July

Aerospace Daily
June 23, 2010
PROGRAMS

NEW DELHI – The delayed launch of the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) Cartosat-2B 0.8-meter resolution remote-sensing satellite from Sriharikota spaceport is now expected in mid-July, Aerospace DAILY has learned.

Previously scheduled for May 9,the flight was delayed following the discovery during routine pre-launch checks of a marginal drop in pressure in the second stage of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (Aerospace DAILY, April 30).

The mission will launch the 700-kg. (1,500-lb.) Cartosat-2B; an Algerian satellite,
ALSAT-2A; the NLS 6.1 and NLS 6.2 nanosatellites from the University of Toronto, Canada; and STUDSAT, built by students from academic institutions in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

ISRO will use the PSLV-C15 to position Cartostat-2B in a polar Sun-synchronous orbit.

It is said Cartosat-2B will map borders in the Kashmir Valley to monitor terrorist infiltrations and perform remote sensing of rural and urban areas. It is expected to have a lifespan of five years.
– Neelam Mathews