ISRO to Launch Cartosat 3 with 25 cm resolution

The Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) plans to build, Cartosat-3, capable of taking images of the earth with a resolution of 0.25 metres. Currently, GeoEye-1 provides the highest resolution satellites imagery taken by a commercial satellite. Currently owned by DigitalGlobe after recent merger with GeoEye, this American satellite provides images at 0.41m resolution. WorldView-2, another satellite operated by the same company, offers a best resolution of 0.46 meters  However the availability of satellite imagery less than 50cm resolution was limited by US regulation which do not allow sale of imagery less than half meter to commercial entities. Cartosat 3 is likely to be launched in 2014.

The high resolution satellite imagery market is getting tougher can be gauged by the fact that DigitalGlobe plans to launch another sensor WorldView-3 next year, which will supply images with a resolution of 0.31 meters and will contain a host of sensor capable of acquiring Super-Spectral imagery. Cartosat-3’s camera would better that performance in terms of spatial resolution.

In the ‘Notes on Demands for Grants, 2013-2014’ from the Department of Space, which forms part of the budget documents presented to Parliament recently, Cartosat-3 figures as a separate item with an allocation of Rs. 10 crores. “Cartosat-3 is an advanced remote sensing satellite with enhanced resolution of 0.25 meter for cartographic applications and high-resolution mapping,” the document said.