Cartosat-2

March 19, 2024

Cartosat-2, the first of ISRO’s second generation of high-resolution imaging satellites primarily used in urban planning, has been deorbited, 17 years after launch.
The satellite, launched on January 10, 2007 and weighing 680 kg, operated in a sun-synchronous polar orbit at an altitude of 635 km.
It performed 14.78 orbits around Earth in a day.
Until 2019, the satellite equipped with over 12,000 coupled charged devices used its “panchromatic and multi-spectral cameras” to generate high-resolution images that were extensively used for urban planning, monitoring of road networks and water distribution, creation of land use maps, among others.
ISRO had expected the satellite to take about 30 years to de-orbit naturally.
- The agency, however, chose to lower the satellite’s perigee using leftover fuel in view of new guidelines on space debris.