17 years after its launch, ISRO successfully lowered Cartosat-2 into the Earth’s atmosphere

Cartosat-2, the first of the second generation of high-resolution imaging satellites launched by ISRO 17 years ago, has descended into the Earth’s atmosphere from space, Indian Space Agency officials said on Friday.

The satellite entered the Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean at 3:48 pm (standard time) on February 14. Either it would burn down or its remnants might fall into the sea and we might not be able to find it, the official said.

According to ISRO, the satellite was launched on January 10, 2007. It weighed 680 kilograms at launch and was operating in a sun-synchronous polar orbit at an altitude of 635 kilometers. ISRO said in a statement that it had been providing high-resolution imagery for urban planning until 2019.

Initially, Cartosat-2 was expected to take approximately 30 years to deorbit naturally. ISRO, however, chose to use remaining fuel to lower its perigee to comply with international guidelines on space debris mitigation.

“The exercise involves reducing the risk of collision and ensuring safe end-of-life disposal, following the recommendations of organizations such as the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UN-COPOUS) and the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC),” ISRO said.

ISRO said that the Secure and Sustainable Space Operating Systems (IS4OM) team of ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) predicts that Cartosat-2 will re-enter the atmosphere on February 14.

Electrical passivation was completed on February 14, and tracking continued until reentry. ISRO said the final telemetry frames confirmed the success of the passivation, with the satellite reaching an altitude of about 130 km.

The exercise provided an opportunity to evaluate indigenous tracking capabilities utilizing the multi-target tracking radar at the Sriharikota Spaceport.

The final prediction is that Cartosat-2 will return to the Indian Ocean on February 14, 2024 at 10:18 UTC/3:48 pm IST. ISRO analysis shows that all major spacecraft components will be scrapped during re-entry (sic) said.

According to the space agency, the successful deorbiting of Cartosat-2 at the end of its life cycle marks an important step taken by ISRO in ensuring the long-term sustainability of outer space activities.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from associated news agency – PTI)