Bhaskara (satellites)

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. R. M. Vasagam was the project director.

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°. 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.

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.

See also

• List of Indian satellites

References