RISAT-II can see through thick clouds, help defence forces

India's newest eye in the sky, Radar Imaging Satellite-II (RISAT-II), the first spy satellite launched from the spaceport here today, has the capability to maintain vigil on the country's borders even at night and through clouds.

The satellite, built with Israeli cooperation, enhances significantly India's capabilities in earth observation as it can track minute movements on land, sources said.

Till now Indian satellites operated only in the visual range and RISAT-II, for the first time, uses microwave frequencies to track the earth.

Though ISRO maintains that it will use the satellite for disaster management purposes and weather forecasts, the satellite imagery data can be made available to defence forces for securing the national borders.

RISAT-II has all-weather capabilities to take images of the earth and would also be beneficial in mapping and helping in managing natural disasters, such as floods and landslides, they said.

Different from previous remote sensing satellites, RISAT-II uses Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), equipped with many antennas, to receive signals that could be processed into high-resolution pictures.

The SAR, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries, equips RISAT-II with defence capabilities, the sources said.