Isro's RISAT 1 satellite has Amdavadi heart
AHMEDABAD: There is a lot more of Ahmedabad in India's latest satellite orbiting the earth than originally thought. Space Application Centre (SAC) of Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) of course designs payloads for satellites, but this time a Gandhinagar-based company has built the very heart of RISAT-1, launched last month from Sriharikota.
Effectively India's first indigenously built all-weather radar imaging satellite, RISAT-1 uses what is known as the synthetic aperture antenna, which has been designed and built by Sahajanand Laser Technology Limited (SLTL). The antenna captures images of earth using microwave. All previous satellites banked on optical and spectral sensors to capture images, which became ineffective at night and on cloudy days. The latest technology, however, captures images in all weather and light conditions.
"We chose not to make any profit out of this project as it is meant for the country," says Arvind Patel, managing director of SLTL. "The synthetic aperture antenna would have cost the country Rs 10 crore had it been imported from the US or elsewhere. We did it for a tenth of the piece."
Patel had been selected by TOI to give away the Social impact Award to Vikram Sarabhai Community Science Centre (VSCSC) in the education category on October 2 last year. Patel credits VSCSC with turning him into an innovator from a depressed 14-year-old who had failed his class VII exams.
In 2006-07, SLTL, a company with a Rs 100 crore turnover, was first given a contract to build an assembly fixer, which assembled the synthetic aperture antenna. The facility was set up at the company's factory in Gandhinagar. Isro later asked the company to build the antenna itself.
"This is a proud moment for India to indigenously design and develop the best technology at the most affordable price," Patel added. "This successful implementation will boost the morale for future partnerships between Isro and private technology companies."
RISAT-1 will have a number of uses, including crop estimation, climate estimation and advance warning systems for earthquakes and tsunamis.
