India and the US today marked their maiden space collaboration with the successful flight of a GSLV rocket that placed an earth observation satellite, NISAR, in a precise orbit. NISAR, was jointly developed by ISRO and NASA. According to ISRO, the GSLV has successfully injected NISAR in designated orbit.

        ISRO’s GSLV F-16 injected the Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite, into the intended Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit (SSPO), after a flight of about 19 minutes and around 745 km.

        The successful launch of the satellite will mark a significant milestone in the history of Earth’s observation missions, due to its dual radar capability, the L-band and S-band systems, which will provide precise data about the cryosphere, ecosystem, and solid Earth.

        The primary objectives of the mission are to study land and ice deformation, land ecosystems, and oceanic regions in areas of common interest to the scientific communities.

Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh has congratulated everyone upon the successful launch of GSLV-F16 carrying the world’s first dual-band radar satellite, NISAR. Terming the satellite launch a game-changer, he said that NISAR will not only help in precise management of disasters like cyclones, floods, etc., but it also has the capacity to penetrate through fog, dense clouds, and ice layers. The minister asserted that NISAR will be a path breaking enabler for the aviation and shipping sectors. He added that the inputs from NISAR will benefit the entire world community in the true spirit of Vishwabandhu. Mr. Singh further expressed pride to be associated with the Department of Space at a time when Team ISRO is registering one global milestone after the other, under the supportive patronage of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.