Risat-2

A 300-kg radar imaging satellite designated as “Risat-2,’’ developed with inputs from Israel, which could have military applications, is slated for launch on April 20 at Sriharikota. The satellite on which the first studentmade satellite,”Anusat,’’ made by the students of the Chennai-based Madras Institute of Technology, will piggy back, will be flown by the highly-proven Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Though senior Isro officials dismissed suggestions that Risat-2 was a spy satellite emphasising that its primary role was disaster management, others in the space agency disagreed saying that it definitely had a military application as well, meaning that it was essentially a spy satellite. The satellite has an Israeli-made Synthetic Aperture Radar can take images during day, night and all weather conditions and also through thick layer of clouds. “It will monitor the borders and help the government in anti-terrorist operations,’’ said an official. According to these officials, the Risat-2 project got expedited post 26/11. Risat-2 will be Isro’s third satellite with a defence role. The first was the Technology Experiment Satellite, which was launched on October 22, 2001 and the second was Israeli spy satellite Tecsar on January 21, 2008.