Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) reports that CARTOSAT-1, India's latest remote-sensing satellite, was launched on board ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C6, on May 5. The satellite was boosted into a 618 km, polar sun-synchronous orbit from India's newest launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

CARTOSAT-1 carries two state-of-the-art panchromatic cameras that capture black-and-white stereoscopic images in the visible light spectrum at a resolution of 2.5 meters. The cameras cover a 30 km swath and acquire images of the same area during a single pass from two different angles. The stereo images can then be used to create accurate elevation data of the Earth and create three-dimensional image maps. Because the cameras are steerable, CARTOSAT-1 has a revisit cycle over any part of the Earth of five days. CARTOSAT-1 has an onboard storage capacity of 120 GB, enabling it to store images when it is not in contact with a ground station.

Data from CARTOSAT-1 will be used for large-scale mapping, disaster assessment, relief planning and management—and various other geospatial and mapping applications. The data is also ideal for updating topographic maps.

Space Imaging will soon offer satellite ground station access and sell imagery from the CARTOSAT-1. This company has an exclusive sales and marketing agreement through 2010 with Antrix Corp., a division of ISRO, which covers worldwide rights to sell imagery outside of India. The agreement covers sale of imagery and direct ground station access to the CARTOSAT-1, RESOURCESAT-1 and the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) 1-C and 1-D satellites.

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