Cartosat-2F

Cartosat-2F is the eighth satellite in the Cartosat-2 Series. It is an Earth observation satellite launched on the PSLV-C40 mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).[2]

Cartosat-2F

CartoSat-2F satellite
Names	Cartosat-2ER
Mission type	Earth Observation
Operator	ISRO [1]
COSPAR ID	2018-004A
SATCAT no.	43111
Website	Cartosat 2 Series Satellite
Mission duration	5 years (planned) 3 years, 19 days (elapsed)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Cartosat
Bus	Cartosat-2 Series
Manufacturer	ISRO
Launch mass	710 kg
Power	986 watts
Start of mission
Launch date	12 January 2018, 03:59:00 UTC
Rocket	Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle S/N PSLV-C40
Launch site	Satish Dhawan Space Centre, First launch Pad (FLP)
Contractor	ISRO
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit
Regime	Sun-synchronous orbit
Inclination	97.47°
Period	94.72 minutes
Cartosat Series

History

Originally, Cartosat-2E was published as the last Cartosat-2 satellite to be launched, as Cartosat-3 Series spacecraft were scheduled to launch in 2018. Cartosat-2F was first listed on launch schedules as Cartosat-2ER, a name possibly indicating it was originally a replica of Cartosat-2E to be used as a spare.[3]

Launch

The PSLV-C40 launch was initially placed on hiatus following failures with the nose cone and satellite deployment systems of PSLV-C39, but was cleared to launch once these issues were resolved.[4] It was launched at 09:29 local time from First Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 12 January 2018,[5] the third of the series to be launched within a year.[6] After 16 minutes and 37 seconds, Cartosat-2F was separated from the launch vehicle, and the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ITTCN) took control of the satellite for maneuvers to its desired orbit.[5] The launch also marked the 100th satellite successfully put into orbit by the ISRO.[7]

Spacecraft

Like other satellites in the series, Cartosat-2F was built on an IRS-2 bus. It uses reaction wheels, magnetorquers, and hydrazine-fueled reaction control thrusters for stability. It has a design service life of five years.[6] Cartosat-2F has two main remote sensing instruments, a panchromatic camera called PAN and a four channel visible/near infrared radiometer called HRMX.[2]

Mission

The first image returned by the mission, on 15 January 2018; was of Holkar Stadium and the surrounding community in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.[8] The PAN camera is designed to have a spatial resolution less than one meter and a swath width of ten kilometers.[9]

On 27 November 2020 at 01:49 UTC, Cartosat-2F and Russia's Kanopus-V No.3 spacecraft came very close while in orbit, passing each other at distance of nearly 200 to 450 meters.[10][11]

References

1. "PSLV C40 • Cartosat-2F". Spaceflight101. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
2. "Satellite: CartoSat-2F". World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
3. Graham, William (11 January 2018). "India's PSLV successfully launches Cartosat-2F". nasaspaceflight.com. NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
4. "PSLV all set to ferry 31 satellites on 12 January". The Hindu. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
5. "PSLV Successfully Launches 31 Satellites in a Single Flight". www.isro.gov.in. ISRO. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
6. "Display: Cartosat 2F 2018-004A". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. NASA. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
7. "ISRO launches 100th satellite Cartosat-2 Series". tehelka.com. Tehelka. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
8. Rahul, K. R. (18 January 2018). "Cartosat-2F first image stunningly sharper than Google Map". International Business Times, Singapore Edition. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
9. Krebs, Gunter. "Cartosat 2, 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
10. "Russian and Indian satellites missed each other in space at 200 m". en.roscosmos.ru. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
11. "Indian, Russian satellites just metres away in space; Roscosmos says 224 m, ISRO says 420 m". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 November 2020.