NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR)

Launch Details

• Launch Site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh

• Launch Vehicle: GSLV-F16

• Orbit: Sun-synchronous orbit

• Weight: 2,392 kg

• Orbit Injection: Successful at 18 minutes post-launch

Mission Profile

• Mission Type: Earth Observation Satellite

• Mission Life: 5 years

• Agencies Involved: Joint venture between ISRO (India) and NASA (USA)

• Significance: First satellite jointly developed by NASA and ISRO

Technical Features

• Radar System: Dual-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)

  • NASA's L-band SAR

  • ISRO's S-band SAR

• Antenna:

  • 12-metre unfurlable mesh reflector (NASA)

  • Integrated with ISRO’s modified I3K satellite bus

• Technology Used: SweepSAR – enables wide swathe observation with high resolution

• Swathe Width: 242 km

• Repeat Cycle: Every 12 days

• All-weather, Day-Night Imaging

                                   

Applications

• Disaster Management: Earthquakes, floods, landslides

• Infrastructure Monitoring

• Agriculture: Farmland mapping, crop output prediction

• Environmental Monitoring:

  • Ground deformation

  • Ice sheet movement

  • Vegetation dynamics

  • Sea ice classification

  • Soil moisture changes

  • Surface water mapping

  • Shoreline and storm monitoring

  • Ship detection

Development Contributions

• NASA (JPL):

  • Radar antenna reflector & boom

  • L-band SAR

  • Engineering payload

• ISRO:

  • Spacecraft bus

  • Solar arrays

  • S-band SAR

  • GSLV-F16 launch vehicle

Significance

• Strengthens Indo-US Space Collaboration

• Enhances India’s Earth Observation Capability

• Pioneers Dual-frequency SAR from Space