| The state-of-the-art IRS-1C & 1D spacecraft will cater to various user require-ments, such as, continuity of data, improved spatial resolution, enhanced spectral coverage, revisit capabilities, and stereo viewing. IRS-1C and 1D spacecraft cater to various user requirements, such as, continuity of data, improved spatial resolution, enhanced spectral coverage, revisit capabilities, and stereo viewing. The IRS-1C/1D are state-of-the-art civilian satellite providing highest spatial resolution information from the PAN camera, compared to other contemporary satellites, LANDSAT and SPOT. IRS-1C data will be received by many ground stations around the globe and distributed to the international user community under the agreement signed between the American EOSAT Company and ANTRIX Corporation, a commercial front of Department of Space. IRS-1C and 1D spacecrafts carry three Imaging sensors viz., Panchromatic (PAN) Camera, Linear Imaging Self-Scanner (LISS-III), Wide Field Sensor (WiFs). IRS-1C and IRS-1D satellites also carry a tape recorder on board for recording data even when the satellites are not visible to a particular ground station. |
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While IRS-1C was launched by the Russian Molniya launcher on December 28, 1996, the IRS-1D was launched by the Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on September 29, 1997. The imaging sensors on IRS-1C/1D are :
• A multispectral Linear Imaging Self-Scanner (LISS-III) in visible, near-IR spectral bands with spatial resolution of around 23 metres and a Short Wave IR (SWIR) band with a resolution of around 70 metres.
• Panchromatic (PAN) Camera with a resolution of around 6 metres with across track stereo viewing capability, and
• A Wide-Field Sensor in visible and near-IR region with a spatial resolution of 188 metres and a wide swath of around 800 kms. Because of the wide swath, the camera provides a repetitive coverage every 5 days.
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