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Bhaskara (satellites)
Indian observations satellites From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Bhaskara-I and -II were two satellites built by the Indian Space Research Organisation that formed India's first low-Earth orbit Earth observation satellite. They collected data on oceanography and hydrology. The satellites are named after the ancient Indian mathematicians Bhāskara I and Bhāskara II.[1] R. M. Vasagam was the project director.[2]
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (February 2011) |
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Bhaskara-I
Bhaskara-I, weighing 444 kg at launch, was launched on 7 June 1979 from Kapustin Yar aboard the Intercosmos launch vehicle. It was placed in an orbital perigee and apogee of 394 km and 399 km at an inclination of 50.7°.[3] The satellite consisted of:
- Two television cameras operating in visible (600 nanometre) and near-infrared (800 nanometre) that collected data related to hydrology, forestry and geology.
- Satellite microwave radiometer (SAMIR) operating at 19 and 22 GHz for study of ocean-state, water vapour, liquid water content in the atmosphere, etc.
- An X-ray sky monitor operating in 2-10 keV energy range, to detect transient X-ray sources and monitor long-term spectral and intensity changes in the X-ray sources.
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Bhaskara-II
The satellite provided ocean and land surface data. It orbited at 541 × 557 km with an inclination of 50.7°.
While one of two onboard cameras malfunctioned, the satellite still sent back more than two thousand images. Housekeeping telemetry was received until re-entry in 1991.[5]
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