Bhaskara I | |
Mission Type: | Experimental Remote Sensing Earth Obsservation Satellite |
Mission Duration: | 10 years (Re-entered in 1989)[1] |
Spacecraft Type: | Uncrewed |
Manufacturer: | ISRO |
Launch Mass: | 444kg (979lb) |
Power: | 47 watts |
Launch Date: | IST |
Launch Rocket: | C-1 Intercosmos Launch Vehicle |
Launch Site: | Kapustin Yar |
Bhaskara-I and -II were two satellites built by the Indian Space Research Organisation that formed India's first low-Earth orbit Earth observation satellite. They collected data on oceanography and hydrology. The satellites are named after the ancient Indian mathematicians Bhāskara I and Bhāskara II.[2]
Bhaskara-I, weighing 444 kg at launch, was launched on 7 June 1979 from Kapustin Yar aboard the Intercosmos launch vehicle. It was placed in an orbital perigee and apogee of 394 km and 399 km at an inclination of 50.7°.[3] The satellite consisted of:
Bhaskara-II | |
Mission Type: | Experimental Remote Sensing Earth Observation Satellite |
Mission Duration: | 10 years (Re-Entered in 1991)[4] |
Spacecraft Type: | Uncrewed |
Manufacturer: | ISRO |
Launch Mass: | 444kg (979lb) |
Power: | 47 watts |
Launch Date: | IST |
Launch Rocket: | C-1 Intercosmos Launch Vehicle |
Launch Site: | Volgograd Launch Station |
The satellite provided ocean and land surface data. It orbited at 541 × 557 km with an inclination of 50.7°.While one of two onboard cameras malfunctioned, the satellite still sent back more than two thousand images. Housekeeping telemetry was received until re-entry in 1991.[5]