NASA-ISRO joint satellite NISAR set to be launched today: All you need to know

About the launch

The satellite will be launched on the GSLV-F16 and be put in a 734 km sun synchronous orbit — an orbit in which the satellite reaches over a place at the same time each day.

What will NISAR do?

The satellite will scan the entire globe every 12 days, proving a series of very detailed images of the Earth’s surface. NISAR will provide an unprecedented view of the planet.

With two radar systems in place, the satellite would be able to provide very high-resolution data, in all types of weather conditions, and both during the day and the night. The satellite is powerful enough to capture changes as small as one centimetre in size during its repeated observations over the same terrain.

It will therefore be able to study the dynamic processes happening on Earth’s surface, like retreat of glaciers, movement of sea ice, the path of a storm, changes in vegetation and forest cover, and even the movements during earthquakes and volcanoes. Scientists expect this satellite to provide new insights into our understandings of processes like climate change or natural hazards and better prepare for them.

It can also help with practical applications such as tracking the changes in soil moisture or mapping surface water levels.

“The satellite will benefit India, the US and the entire world… it is also crucial for monitoring earth’s natural resources,” ISRO chairman V Narayanan added.

Why the delay

There have been several delays in NISAR’s launch, with the last year’s scheduled launch getting postponed after technical issues. There was a need to fix the one of the key components of the satellite — a 12-metre unfurlable antennae — for which the satellite was shipped back to the United States.