After sat-killer, India gets radar sniffer in sky

SRIHARIKOTA: Five days after striking down a low earth satellite with an ASat missile, India on Monday launched a satellite that will protect its assets, including fighter jets and spacecraft, by detecting radars in enemy territory.

Electro-Magnetic Intelligence Satellite (Emisat) will intercept radar signals and detect the kind of radar and its location. A radar emits radiowaves in specific frequencies that hit targets and bounce back - telling the radar the nature of the target, its movement and distance.

Emisat is a result of a five-year development jointly by Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

DRDO chief Sateesh Reddy called it a major milestone after A-Sat. "We were able to enhance our capabilities and two successes in a short time," he said. Isro's PSLV-C45 on Monday made unique manoeuvres to three different circular orbits to also inject 28 foreign satellites.

The fourth stage (PS4) of the new variant of PSLV, in one of its longest missions lasting 3 hours, will stay alive for the next six months providing a platform for three scientific instruments to collect data in microgravity atmosphere.

Isro chairman K Sivan said that converting PS4 into an orbital platform would be most beneficial for students who can conduct experiments.

(With inputs from Chethan Kumar)