ISRO’s mapping satellite in May

By the first week of May, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch Carto 1, a satellite with a stereoscopic imaging, which will help with high resolution mapping of the entire continent.

Cartosat, with a capability of 2.5m resolution, will be followed by the Insat 4A, the heaviest launch built by India, ISRO chairman Dr G. Madhavan Nair said today at the inauguration of the Master Control Facility (MCF) at Ayodhya Nagar. ‘‘The Ariane will ship it (Insat 4A) by the end of July,’’ Nair said. These will be followed by the launch of PSLV and GSLV from Sriharikota.

Nair added that ISRO, with other agencies, would try to put in place systems that could provide speedy warning on the tsunami: ‘‘It is basically the detectors on the ocean or at bottom, which can pick up the signals and relay them on to the satellites so that an effective warning is issued. We are now working in association with other agencies to put in place such a mechanism. Maybe in a year-and-a-half, such a system will be in place.”