India needs more satellites to monitor borders; plan to launch 100-150 sats: ISRO chief
ISRO is planning to launch the PSLV-C61 mission carrying the Earth-imaging EOS-09 satellite, equipped with a C-band synthetic aperture radar
India presently operates 55 satellites, which serve a wide range of purposes such as weather monitoring, communication, earth-imaging, and strategic needs. However, for a landmass as vast as India, which has a 7,500 kms long coastline and 15,000 kms of land borders, there is a need for more satellites to constantly, persistently monitor the territory and borders, said ISRO Chief Dr V Narayanan. He was responding to a question on the steps that ISRO could take in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed 26 lives.
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He added that India plans to launch 100-150 satellites to meet this requirement. Narayanan was in Chennai at an event organised by Kauvery Hospital, where an “AI-powered Robotic Compatible O-ARM" was launched.
In May, ISRO is planning to launch the PSLV-C61 mission carrying the Earth-imaging EOS-09 satellite. Equipped with a C-band synthetic aperture radar, EOS-09 will be capable of capturing high-resolution images of Earth’s surface under all weather conditions, day or night.
Further, Narayanan mentioned that India's largest rocket, the LVM3, is getting ready at the spaceport in Sriharikota. LVM3 had performed two commercial missions for the European firm OneWeb (now Eutelsat OneWeb)- one in October 2022 and another in March 2023, launching a total of 72 satellites. By June-July this year, LVM3 would perform its third commercial mission for an American customer, launching a satellite that weighs nearly four tons, he said.
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While Narayanan did not name the customer, it is known that the upcoming LVM3-M5 mission will see an Indian rocket launching an American-origin satellite belonging to the private firm AST SpaceMobile, USA. The internet-beaming satellite, which is part of the firm's BlueBird Block-2 series, is being launched based on an agreement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of ISRO.
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In addition to this, India and the US are also gearing up for the launch of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite, which will be carried to orbit by India's GSLV (also known as GSLV Mk2) rocket.
Outlining the vision for the future, he said that India plans to have its own space station, a 52-ton laboratory that would circle the Earth. This proposed 'Bharatiya Antariksh Station' would comprise five modules. As of this date, there are only two space stations- the Chinese Tiangong and the International Space Station(backed by the US, Russia, Europe, Canada, Japan).
