Cartosat 3

      Introduction                                      

                        Cartosat-3 is an advanced Indian Earth Observation satellite built and developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which replaces the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) series. It has a panchromatic resolution of 0.25 metres making it one of the imaging satellite with highest resolution in the world at the time of launch and MX of 1 metre with a high quality resolution which is a major improvement from the previous payloads in the Cartosat series.    

Launch

                                                                                                 

            PSLV-C47 carrying Cartosat-3 was launched on 27 November 2019 at 03:58 UTC using XL variant of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from the Second Launch Pad (SLP) of Satish Dhawan Space Centre into a Sun-synchronous orbit of 450 kilometers. Thirteen commercial ride-sharing 3U cubesats including twelve SuperDoves (Flock-4p) by Planet Labs and one Meshbed by Analytical Space of United States were also put in orbit using the same launch vehicle.Commercial ride-share was arranged by NewSpace India Limited, Spaceflight Industries and ISILaunch.

         

      Cartosat-3 satellite is a third generation agile advanced satellite having high resolution imaging capability.

                                  

PSLV-C47 Mission Specifications
Mean altitude	509 km
Mean inclination	97.5°
Overall Mass	1625 kg
Power Generation	2000W
Mission Life	5 years

                   

                              Cartosat-3 has a resolution of 25 cm (10").It uses 1.2 m optics with 60% of weight removal compared to Cartosat-2. Other features include the use of adaptive optics, acousto optical devices, in-orbit focusing using MEMs and large area-light weight mirrors and advanced sense with a high quality resolution. It has a planned mission life of 5 years.Approved cost of Cartosat-3 is ₹351.16 crore (US$49 million).

Best in the world

          Cartosat-3 is a third-generation advanced satellite with very high-resolution imaging capability. The satellite will be used for a variety of earth-observation applications, such as cartography, weather mapping, forest surveys, urban planning, coastal studies, mineral prospecting, and, of course, military purposes. 

          One of its most important uses will include disaster relief operations, where such high-resolution imaging over a vast swathe of area can help save hundreds of lives.

It is a panchromatic, multispectral and hyperspectral satellite, all of which are characteristics that bolster the quality of images it captures.

Multispectral indicates that the satellite can see in three to 10 bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. The satellite’s multispectral resolution is 1.13 m with a 16 km swath in four bands.

Hyperspectral suggests hundreds of thousands of narrow bands being imaged. The satellite’s hyperspectral resolution is 12 m with 5 km swath.

Where Cartosat-3 stands out is in its panchromatic resolution. Panchromatic indicates its sight in the visible part of the spectrum — Cartosat-3 has a ground resolution of 0.25 m with 16 km swath. This means the satellite can pick out an object that is 25 cm long in an area 16 km wide.

Its imaging resolution is the highest ever developed by ISRO. Its panchromatic resolution is also the best known commercially for a satellite in orbit. With its imaging capacity, Cartosat-3 replaces WorldView-4, an American satellite with a resolution of 31cm. 

                                                                            Created by-

                                                                                                       Shreyas Kulkarni(BECA16)
                                                                                                       Omkar Kusneniwar(BECA17)

                                                                                                        Satish Jatale(BECA16)