Cartosat-3


Cartosat-3 is an advanced Indian Earth Observation satellite built and developed by ISRO, which will replace the IRS series. It has a panchromatic resolution of 0.25 metres making it the imaging satellite with highest resolution in the world and Mx of 1 metre with a high quality resolution which is a major improvement from the previous payloads in the Cartosat series.
Potential uses include weather mapping, cartography or army defence, and strategic applications.

Overview

Cartosat-3 has a resolution of 25 cm. It uses 1.2 m optics with 60% of weight removal compared to Cartosat-2. Other features include the use of adaptive optics, acousto optical devices, in-orbit focusing using MEMs and large area-light weight mirrors and advanced sense with a high quality resolution. It has a planned mission life of 5 years.

History

Cartosat-3 is the 3rd generation of high-resolution imaging satellites developed by ISRO. It was developed in response to increased demand for imaging services to address urban planning, rural resource and infrastructure development needs.

Launch

PSLV C47 carrying Cartosat-3 was launched on 27 November 2019 at 03:58 UTC using XL variant of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from the second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre into a sun synchronous orbit of 509 kilometers. Thirteen commercial ride-sharing 3U cubesats including twelve SuperDoves by Planet Labs and one Meshbed by Analytical Space of United States were also put in orbit using the same launch vehicle. Commercial ride-share was arranged by New Space India ltd, Spaceflight industries and ISILaunch.