Source: Xinhua
03-23-2009 10:45
Special Report: Tech MaxNEW DELHI, March 20 (Xinhua) -- India is likely to launch early next month a radar imaging satellite (RISAT), built with "substantial inputs" from the Israel aerospace industry, from Sriharikota spaceport in southern India, the semi-official Press Trust of India news agency reported Friday.
The report quoted an unnamed Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) official as saying Israel has supplied Synthetic Aperture Radar, which is in fact "heart" of the 1,780-kilogram remote sensing satellite.
The Israeli "inputs" are seen as a "return gesture" to New Delhi for launching an Israeli spacecraft Techsar on board India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from Sriharikota spaceport last year, said the report.
"RISAT is likely to be launched in the first half of April. We are looking at April 5 or 6," the report quoted the official as saying.
Sriharikota is a barrier island off the coast of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh in India which houses India's only satellite launch center.
The Satish Dhawan Space Center is used by the ISRO to launch satellites using multi-stage rockets such as the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle.
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