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Straits Times
31-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
US, India launch powerful Earth-monitoring satellite
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox ISRO's launch vehicle carrying NISAR lifting off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on India's southeastern coast on July 30. WASHINGTON - A formidable new radar satellite jointly developed by the United States and India launched July 30, designed to track subtle changes in Earth's land and ice surfaces and help predict both natural and human-caused hazards. Dubbed NISAR (Nasa-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar), the pickup truck-sized spacecraft blasted off around 5.40pm local time (1210 GMT) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on India's southeastern coast, riding an ISRO Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket. Livestream of the event showed excited schoolchildren brought to watch the launch and mission teams erupting in cheers and hugging. Highly anticipated by scientists, the mission has also been hailed by US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a milestone in growing cooperation between the two countries. 'Congratulations India!' Dr Jitendra Singh, India's science and technology minister wrote on X, calling the mission a 'game changer'. 'Our planet surface undergoes constant and meaningful change,' Karen St Germain, director of NASA's Earth Science division, told reporters ahead of launch. 'Some change happens slowly. Some happens abruptly. Some changes are large, while some are subtle.' Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia Trump says US will set 15% tariff on South Korean imports under new deal Business US Fed holds rates steady despite Trump's pressure, with two governors dissenting Multimedia 60 years, 60 items: A National Day game challenge Singapore $10 million Toto results to be announced on July 31, after no winners in last 3 draws World Canada to recognise Palestinian state at UN General Assembly: Carney Sport Ainslee Kwang, 14, becomes first Singaporean diver to qualify for World Aquatics C'ships semi-finals Multimedia Firefly-inspired light show at Gardens By The Bay's Supertree Grove Singapore Escape, discover, connect: Where new memories are made By picking up on tiny shifts in the vertical movement of the Earth's surface – as little as 1cm – scientists will be able to detect the precursors for natural and human-caused disasters, from earthquakes, landsides and volcanoes to aging infrastructure like dams and bridges. 'We'll see land substance and swelling, movement, deformation and melting of mountain glaciers and ice sheets covering both Greenland and Antarctica, and of course, we'll see wildfires,' added St Germain, calling NISAR 'the most sophisticated radar we've ever built'. India in particular is interested in studying its coastal and nearby ocean areas by tracking yearly changes in the shape of the sea floor near river deltas and how shorelines are growing or shrinking. Data will also be used to help guide agricultural policy by mapping crop growth, tracking plant health, and monitoring soil moisture. In the coming weeks, the spacecraft will begin an approximately 90-day commissioning phase during which it will unfurl its 12m radar antenna reflector. Once operational, NISAR will record nearly all of Earth's land and ice twice every 12 days from an altitude of 747km, circling the planet near the poles rather than around the equator. Microwave frequencies As it orbits, the satellite will continuously transmit microwaves and receive echoes from the surface. Because the spacecraft is moving, the returning signals are distorted, but computer processing will reassemble them to produce detailed, high-resolution images. Achieving similar results with traditional radar would require an impractically large 19km-wide dish. NISAR (Nasa-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) is launched by ISRO's rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India on July 30. PHOTO: EPA NISAR will operate on two radar frequencies: L-band and S-band. The L-band is ideal for sensing taller vegetation like trees, while the S-band enables more accurate readings of shorter plants such as bushes and shrubs. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and India's ISRO shared the workload, each building components on opposite sides of the planet before integrating and testing the spacecraft at ISRO's Satellite Integration & Testing Establishment in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru. NASA's contribution came to just under US$1.2 billion, while ISRO's costs were around US$90 million. India's space program has made major strides in recent years, including placing a probe in Mars orbit in 2014 and landing a robot and rover on the Moon in 2023. Shubhanshu Shukla, a test pilot with the Indian Air Force, recently became the second Indian to travel to space and the first to reach the International Space Station – a key step toward India's own indigenous crewed mission planned for 2027 under the Gaganyaan ('sky craft') program. AFP
Daily Tribune
30-07-2025
- Science
- Daily Tribune
US-India Radar Satellite Launches to Track Earth's Changes
A powerful new radar satellite built through a partnership between the United States and India successfully launched on Wednesday, marking a major step in monitoring our planet's changing environment. The satellite, known as NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar), is roughly the size of a pickup truck. It lifted off at 5:40 pm local time (12:10 GMT) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on India's southeastern coast, carried by an ISRO Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle. NISAR is designed to spot even the smallest changes in Earth's land and ice surfaces. Scientists say it will help track environmental shifts and predict hazards such as floods, landslides, and damage caused by human activity. The joint project reflects a growing collaboration between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), combining advanced radar technology with shared data to better protect people and the planet.
Muscat Daily
30-07-2025
- Science
- Muscat Daily
India: ISRO's Earth-observing satellite lifts off
Bengaluru, India – The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched NISAR satellite, a sophisticated earth observation satellite developed in collaboration with the American space agency NASA, from Sriharikota on Wednesday evening on its scheduled time. A joint mission of NASA and ISRO, the Earth satellite was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh India's southeastern coast aboard an ISRO Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket at 5.40pm. The mission was a long gestation period of over a decade and a joint investment exceeding US$1.5bn. NISAR launched into orbit onboard the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV-F16. Usually, PSLV is utilised for such an orbit and this is the first time that a GSLV rocket was injecting a satellite into a Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit. 'Liftoff And we have liftoff! GSLV-F16 has successfully launched with NISAR onboard,' ISRO posted on X. The NISAR satellite weighs 2,392kg and was placed in a sun-synchronous orbit. It will orbit the Earth once every 97 minutes and send images of Earth's land and ice surfaces, as well as specific portions of the ocean's surface, every 12 days. The mission life of the satellite is expected to last five years. Union Minister Jitendra Singh has described the mission as not just a satellite but India's 'scientific handshake with the world'. The unique dual-band Synthetic Aperture Radar of NISAR employs an advanced, novel SweepSAR technique, which provides high resolution and large swath imagery. NISAR will image the global land and ice-covered surfaces, including islands, sea-ice and selected oceans every 12 days, ISRO said. NISAR mission's primary objectives are to study land and ice deformation, land ecosystems, and oceanic regions in areas of common interest to the US and Indian science communities. The first 90 days after launch will be dedicated to commissioning, or In-Orbit Checkout (IOC), the objective of which is to prepare the observatory for science operations, ISRO said. The first of its kind mission was to carry two different frequencies – an L and S-band. The global microwave imaging mission can acquire fully polarimetric and interferometric data. A key feature of the mission was that all data generated by NISAR will be open source and made freely accessible within one to two days of observation, and in near real-time in case of emergencies. This democratisation of data is expected to support global scientific research and decision-making, especially for developing countries that may not have access to similar capabilities. ANI
NDTV
30-07-2025
- Science
- NDTV
ISRO Successfully Launches NISAR, World's Most Expensive Earth Imaging Satellite
The world's most expensive civilian Earth imaging satellite, NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar Satellite), has lifted off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh and has been successfully injected into its orbit. The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV-F16 rocket carrying the $1.3-billion satellite, which is a collaboration between Indian space agency ISRO and its US counterpart NASA, lifted off at 5.40 pm on Wednesday. This is the first such collaboration between the two space agencies. GSLV-F16/NISAR Liftoff And we have liftoff! GSLV-F16 has successfully launched with NISAR onboard. Livestreaming Link: For more information: #NISAR #GSLVF16 #ISRO #NASA — ISRO (@isro) July 30, 2025 "Liftoff. And we have liftoff! GSLV-F16 has successfully launched with NISAR onboard," ISRO's handle posted on X. Speaking to NDTV earlier, ISRO Chairman Dr V Narayanan said the launch would be a big step forward in India assuming a leadership role in satellite technology. "From that humble beginning (the launch of India's first satellite, Aryabhata, with Russia's support, in 1975) when India relied on other nations for satellite technology, we are now gradually occupying a leadership role... Today, two great countries have built an important satellite together, and I'm extremely happy that it will be launched by our vehicle from Indian soil," Mr Narayanan said. After the launch, the ISRO chairman said, "I am extremely happy. NISAR has been successfully and precisely injected into its intended orbit." NISAR, which weights 2,392 kg, will be injected into a Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit - the first time a GSLV is doing so. Usually, PSLVs (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles) are used to inject satellites into such orbits. The satellite, which has been in development for over a decade and is expected to have a mission life of five years, will orbit the Earth once every 97 minutes and send images of Earth's land surface, as well as some portions of the ocean's surface, every 12 days. The unique Earth imaging satellite is a technological marvel and would be a game-changer in saving lives by being able to predict natural disasters and give warnings. Its dual-band radar - L-band from NASA and S-band from ISRO - will allow scientists to monitor the Earth with unprecedented precision.
United News of India
30-07-2025
- Science
- United News of India
India successfully puts into orbit Indo-US joint earth observation satellite NISAR
South Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh), July 30 (UNI) Marking a new milestone in Indo-US space diplomacy, India on Wednesday evening successfully put into orbit the first ISRO-NASA jointly developed Earth Observation satellite NISAR in a copy book style from the spaceport here. The 2,392 kg NISAR satellite was carried by Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) rocket codenamed as GSLV-F16. MORE UNI VJ GV 1800/1831
