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Papri Sri Raman in Madras
India's launch of three satellites by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on Monday without the usual fanfare has raised questions whether the country has begun experimenting with spy satellites.
Fuelling the speculation is India's state of heightened defence preparedness given the war raging in nearby Afghanistan.
"It is a question of interpretation," said Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K Kasturirangan. "Whatever you call it, earth observation or spying ... all I can say is that this satellite is a forerunner for a high-resolution satellite system."
India, he indicated, would soon be in a position to place many such satellites in space at a cost of about Rs 1 billion each.
What raised questions about India's intentions was the fact that television crews and print journalists were not taken to the ISRO launch facility at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, as is usually done. All news channels were given public broadcaster Doordarshan's shots of the launch.
Kasturirangan admitted that security considerations compelled ISRO to launch the PSLV C-3 without the hype of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle launch in April.
Many, especially in Western military establishments, may be greatly interested in the imaging facilities India can provide. Especially if the images can pinpoint vehicle movements in the subcontinent to a 1m resolution, covering Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries in the neighbourhood.
For countries like the US, Britain and Russia, buying specific images from India would be more cost-effective if such defence co-operation is agreed upon, sources in the space agency said.
"There is a market for this," the ISRO chief also conceded on Monday.
The PSLV placed two small European satellites -- the German BIRD and the Belgian PROBA -- into orbit at 1023 IST. The third satellite was India's Rs 750 million Technology Experiments Satellite, which ISRO said had achieved a height of 572km. The TES can spot cars and convoy movements on the ground.
The TES launch was scheduled at the beginning of 2002, but was speeded up, superseding the schedule of Cartosat, a remote-sensing satellite, and the Ariane 5 flight, also giving rise to speculation that it got priority because of the war in the region.
The final destination of one of the three satellites launched on Monday will be higher than the other two. But which one, none in ISRO is revealing. The usual orbit for a PSLV satellite is less than 900km above the earth and it can weigh up to 1,200 kg.
Kasturirangan said the idea was to launch "intermediate-class" satellites and not the "three- or four-tonne class" as "there is a niche market for this".
The PSLV is about 45 metres tall and uses a four-stage solid and liquid propulsion system. It first placed the Indian Remote Sensing 1-D in March 1999 into a polar orbit. ISRO calls it "a tried and tested workhorse" and space watchers say there is no better system to use than the PSLV for snooping satellites.
Outlining ISRO's schedule over the next few months, Kasturirangan said INSAT 3-C was to be launched in December-January, INSAT 3-E by the middle of 2002 and the next IRS by the end of next year. Ariane 5 and Cartosat are due to be launched by this yearend.
Indo-Asian News Service
EARLIER REPORT: PSLV launched successfully from Sriharikota
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