Cartosat-2C, the earth observation satellite of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will be launched in May atop a PSLV rocket in hopes of proving the country's military surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.
A successful launch will place India alongside a few select nations, namely the United States, China, and Israel, which have spy satellites watching the planet from space.
Cartosat-2C – the younger kin of Cartosat-2A, the country's first military satellite launched in 2007 – was built in Ahmedabad at the Space Applications Center, then brought to Bengaluru at the ISRO Satellite Center after being tested and evaluated.
Little is known at present about the satellite, but ISRO is confident it will get the job done.
"[It] is expected to provide very high resolution pictures and videos captured from space," an ISR official told Indian Express.
The dual-use satellite weighs 690 kilograms (1,521 pounds) and is armed with a Panchromatic Camera as well as a high-resolution multi-spectral instrument. Boasting a resolution of 0.65 meter when its predecessor has only 0.8 meter, this camera is said to capture high-res images of areas and borders of dispute, and log videos of sensitive targets from space and transmit them back to Earth.
Panchromatic imagers, too, are deemed useful for disaster monitoring and recording temperatures of specific locations versus surrounding sites.
Along with 21 other satellites, Cartosat-2C will be launched aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket, positioned in orbit at a low-Earth altitude of around 200 to 1,200 kilometers (approx. 124-745 miles) above planetary surface.
The Indian space agency is also keen on increasing the number of PSLV flights to ferry more satellites into space and eventually privatize the rocket’s operations.
"We want [industries] to form a consortium to build PSLV and launch satellites," ISRO chair A.S. Kiran Kumar said in a Deccan Chronicle report, citing their target of 12 flights a year initially and then scaling it up to 24 annually.
The ISRO has started building its second site for PSLV assembly at Satish Dhawan Space Center, which is estimated ready later this year.
A day-long conference on April 21 will offer the consortium proposal to executives from more than 25 Indian industries tapped to fly the PSLV. Joining the consortium is viewed as a launchpad for private enterprises to compete in the global aerospace and defense arena filled with billion-dollar contracts.
In February, the chief of the French space agency confirmed that they are in talks with India to put a lander on Mars in their own bid to explore the Red Planet.
India's Mars Orbiter Mission arrived in the planet's orbit in September 2014 – the country's first ever interplanetary mission, costing $74 million.
