The NASA-ISRO NISAR satellite onboard GSLV-F16 was launched into space from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, on Wednesday.
NISAR, which stands for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, is a collaborative project between ISRO and NASA. It aims to deliver detailed observations of Earth to monitor and analyse complex planetary processes such as ecosystem disturbances, ice-sheet collapse, natural hazards, sea level rise, and groundwater concerns. Its pioneering space-based radar will systematically map Earth's surface, detecting surface changes as small as one centimetre.
The 51.7-meter-tall three-stage GSLV F-16 rocket launched into space following a 27.30-hour countdown, transporting the 2,393 kg satellite. The launch vehicle gracefully took off from the second launch pad at the spaceport, located approximately 135 km east of Chennai.
The GSLV rocket is scheduled to deploy the satellite into a Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit following an approximately 19-minute flight, reaching an altitude of 745 km.
NISAR has been created for global microwave imaging applications and features an L-Band radar supplied by NASA along with an S-band system developed by ISRO, both capable of collecting fully polarimetric and interferometric information.
The mission aims to examine land and ice changes, terrestrial ecosystems, and ocean areas that are of mutual scientific interest to researchers in both the United States and India.
