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| Indian Remote Sensing Programme | |
|---|---|
| Name | Indian Remote Sensing Programme |
| Agency | Indian Space Research Organisation |
| Country | India |
| Status | Active |
| First launch | 1988 |
| Spacecraft | Remote sensing satellites |
| Launch site | Satish Dhawan Space Centre |
| Operator | Indian Space Research Organisation |
Indian Remote Sensing Programme is India's long-standing civil remote sensing satellite initiative led by Indian Space Research Organisation to provide Earth observation data for national land use planning, disaster management, agriculture monitoring and resource mapping. The programme operates a series of optical and microwave satellites launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre and integrates data with national agencies including National Remote Sensing Centre, Survey of India, Ministry of Earth Sciences and Department of Space. It supports service delivery to users such as National Disaster Management Authority, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Forest Survey of India and regional institutions across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
The programme comprises satellite platforms, launch vehicles from Indian Space Research Organisation, ground stations like Shadnagar, processing facilities at National Remote Sensing Centre and distribution through portals operated by Bharat Satellite Nigam Limited and departmental nodes such as Space Applications Centre and Indian Institute of Remote Sensing. It delivers multispectral, hyperspectral and synthetic aperture radar products tailored for Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, National Informatics Centre, Central Water Commission and other agencies involved in land cover mapping, water resources assessment, urban planning in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
Origins trace to collaborations with foreign bodies including National Aeronautics and Space Administration, French Space Agency and European Space Agency during the 1970s and 1980s, followed by indigenous development under Vikram Sarabhai-era institutions and later expansion by Udupi Ramachandra Rao and A. P. J. Abdul Kalam leadership within Indian Space Research Organisation. Early milestones include launch of payloads aboard SLV-3 and operationalisation of the IRS-1A series, with institutional support from Department of Space and planning coordination with Planning Commission and later NITI Aayog. The programme adapted lessons from Landsat, SPOT, ERS-1 and RADARSAT to evolve sensor design, calibration and ground segment best practices adopted by National Remote Sensing Centre.
The constellation includes optical platforms such as the IRS mainline series, high-resolution missions akin to Cartosat, hyperspectral demonstrators like HySIS and microwave platforms comparable to RISAT and SAR missions. Launches have employed Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle variants, with key spacecraft named for mission classes including IRS-1C, IRS-P6 (Resourcesat-1), Cartosat-2, RISAT-2B, Resourcesat-2A and recent series analogous to EOS platforms. Payloads provide resolutions spanning from metre-level panchromatic to decametre-level multispectral and centimetre-scale radar observations used by Indian Meteorological Department and National Remote Sensing Centre.
Ground infrastructure spans operational control at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network, data reception at regional stations including Shadnagar and Lucknow, and archival at Bhuvan and National Data Centre facilities. Processing pipelines implement radiometric, geometric and thematic corrections referencing standards from Committee on Earth Observation Satellites and calibration ties to missions such as Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2. Analytical workflows support end users in Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Central Pollution Control Board, Indian Railways and provincial authorities using software stacks influenced by ENVI and ERDAS IMAGINE paradigms and open-source ecosystems like QGIS.
Operational services include crop acreage estimation for Indian Council of Agricultural Research, drought monitoring for Ministry of Jal Shakti, flood inundation mapping for National Disaster Management Authority, forest cover change detection for Forest Survey of India, coastal zone management for Ministry of Earth Sciences and urban sprawl analysis supporting municipal bodies such as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Greater Chennai Corporation. The programme supplies inputs to national projects like Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, Bharatmala and conservation programs involving Wildlife Institute of India, Zoological Survey of India and several state forest departments.
ISRO and programme partners engage with international bodies including United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, Group on Earth Observations, Committee on Earth Observation Satellites and bilateral ties with United States, France, Russia, Japan and European Union entities for data sharing, calibration and joint missions. Policy frameworks align with national instruments overseen by Ministry of External Affairs and export controls consistent with Wassenaar Arrangement-style norms; cooperative agreements have been signed with institutions such as National Aeronautics and Space Administration, CNES, Roscosmos and JAXA.
Planned upgrades emphasize higher revisit frequency, constellations of small satellites comparable to commercial providers like Planet Labs and integration with hyperspectral and L-band SAR capabilities inspired by DESIS and SIRAL heritage. Roadmaps coordinated with Indian Space Policy targets include increased data dissemination via Bhuvan improvements, cloud processing layers like Amazon Web Services collaborations, and enhanced support for initiatives such as Smart Cities Mission, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation and climate resilience programs led by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Category:Indian Space Research Organisation Category:Earth observation satellites of India Category:Space programme stubs