India is to launch its home-made all-weather satellite on April 20 from the southern spaceport of Sriharikota, sources said Monday.
"The satellite, RISAT-1, a Radar Imaging Satellite, is slated to be launched on April 20. It has the capability of taking images of the Earth during day and night, and weighs around 1,850 kg," the sources said.
The Indian Space Research Organization's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle will carry the satellite into a 536-km orbit, they said.
RISAT-1 can monitor agriculture and water resources management, among other applications, but it would not be used for defence purposes, the sources added.
The launch of the country's first microwave remote sensing satellite was deferred by a couple of months due to a controversy surrounding four top scientists for their role in the Antrix-Devas deal that delayed the preparations.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
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