The IRS-P3 satellite was launched from Sriharikota, India, using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle – PLSV-D3. IRS-P3 was put in a polar, sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 817km with equatorial crossing time of 10:30 A.M in the descending node.
IRS - P3 has an X-ray astronomy and two remote sensing payloads, namely Wide Field Sensor (WiFS) and Modular Optoelectronics Scanner (MOS). The mission caters to oceanography applications.
IRS - P3 WiFS is similar to IRS - 1C WiFS but for the inclusion of an additional band in the Middle Infra-red (MIR) region. This sensor is primarily meant for vegetation dynamic studies while MOS is meant for ocean related studies. MOS has helped the ocean application scientists in developing necessary algorithms for extracting ocean parameters such as phytoplankton, yellow substance and suspended sediments in ocean waters.
Orbit |
Near Polar, Sun synchronous |
Altitude |
817km |
Inclination |
98.69 deg |
Local Time |
10.30 A.M |
Repetivity |
24 days |
Orbits/cycle |
341 |
Period |
101.35 min |
Sensors |
WiFS, MOS-A, MOS-B,MOS-C |
WiFS Sensor Characteristics
Resolution |
188 x 188 (B3 & B4)
188 x 246 (B5) |
Swath |
770 Km |
Repeativity |
24 days |
Spectral Bands |
0.62 - 0.68 microns (B3)
0.77 - 0.86 microns (B4)
1.55 – 1.69 microns (B5) |
MOS Sensor Characteristics
Sensor |
MOS-A |
MOS-B |
MOS-C |
Resolution (m) |
1569 x 1395 |
523 x 523 |
523 x 644 |
Swath (km) |
195 |
200 |
192 |
Spectral Bands (microns)
|
0.755-0.768 |
0.408-1.01 |
1.5-1.7 |
