Seeking to beef up the nation's defence surveillance capabilities, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is gearing up to launch its first Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT), along with micro educational satellite - ANUSAT, on Monday. According to ISRO, the RISAT is capable of keeping surveillance of the country and watching the earth through fog and clouds, in fact, in all-weather conditions, day and night.

ISRO has reported that the (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) PSLV (C-12) will be blasted off between 6.30 and 7 a. m, with the RISAT (Radar Imaging Satellite) and ANUSAT, a micro educational satellite developed by Anna University, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, an island by the sea 100km north of Chennai. The 230 tonne rocket will take off carrying weight around 350 kg - 300 kg RISAT and 50 kg ANUSAT. The rocket will put RISAT into a circular orbit 550km - 560 km from the earth, about 17 minutes after the launch, while ANUSAT will be put into low earth orbit.

ISRO spokesperson S Satish told, "Everything is progressing smoothly. Currently checks are done on the integration of the stages of the rocket as well as the satellites. The countdown will start 48 hours before take-off (Saturday morning). As of now, everything is going on fine. Risat, which can penetrate clouds and observe earth under all climatic conditions, will be extremely useful in disaster management."

According to ISRO, RISAT is different from previous remote sensing satellites, as it uses Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), equipped with several antennas to receive signals that are processed into high-resolution pictures. The SAR developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) gives RISAT defence capabilities and makes it different from previous weather satellites. ISRO is working to develop its own SAR to be used in the bigger satellite, 1,780-kg RISAT, which ISRO is developing and will launch later sometime. Satish said, "Risat has been put together with inputs from the Israeli Space Agency (ISA), but the satellite images will be used solely for Indian purposes."

The Indian space agency has claimed that RISAT will be beneficial in mapping and managing natural disasters, such as floods and landslides, besides amplifying the defence surveillance capabilities of the nation. The lighter RISAT has been developed in the wake of terrorist attacks.

ANUSAT is the first satellite developed by an Indian university (Anna University). ANUSAT project director P V Ramakrishna said, "Scores of students and faculty members from different streams have been working on Anusat for six years." ANUSAT is a store-and-forward communication satellite that will help in transfer of confidential academic materials, including exam question papers, to prevent question paper leakages. It will also help in monitoring drought and wasteland, urban planning and other studies. The launch of RISAT and ANUSAT will mark the 15th flight of PSLV.