The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and its commercial marketing arm, ANTRIX Corp. Ltd., successfully launched the IRS-1D Earth imaging satellite today from Sriharikota, India. The satellite is an identical twin to the IRS-1C, launched in December 1995. IRS-1D will undergo approximately six to eight weeks of on-orbit testing before commencing full operations.

The dual use of these satellites enables Space Imaging EOSAT, the

exclusive provider of IRS imagery to global markets, to offer

5.8-meter resolution images to its customers twice as often as is

currently possible with just the IRS-1C. The imagery is useful for

applications as diverse as natural resource planning, agricultural

monitoring, urban and transportation development, natural disaster

assessment, media use and much more.

"High-resolution IRS imagery has proven its usefulness in a

variety of industries worldwide," said Dr. Krishnaswamy,

Kasturirangan, chairman of ISRO and ANTRIX. "With the addition of

IRS-1D, users will have the added advantage of frequent updates – as

frequently as three days if the customer requires it. This

capability is crucial for those needing to closely monitor events

that change over time."

For Space Imaging EOSAT, which has an exclusive agreement with

ANTRIX to market and distribute IRS imagery worldwide, the addition

of IRS-1D means its portfolio of advanced Earth information products

– already the largest and most diverse in the world – just became

even bigger and more robust.

"India has been a world leader in remote sensing satellites for

decades, and with the launch of IRS-1D, they have the largest remote

sensing program of any country in the world," said John Copple,

Space Imaging EOSAT's chief executive officer. "The current

five-satellite Indian constellation produces among the highest

resolution, commercially available imagery and Earth information in

the world. By including IRS imagery in our expanded CARTERRA(TM)

product line, and with our worldwide network of receiving stations,

Space Imaging EOSAT can provide customers with a greater variety of

Earth information products than has ever been available from a single

source."

As the flagships of the IRS constellation, the both IRS-1C and 1D

produce 5.8-meter panchromatic (black and white) imagery, which is

resampled to five-meter pixel detail. These satellites are also

equipped with two-band Wide Field Sensors (WiFS) that cover a

774-square-kilometer (481-square-mile) area in a single image, as

well as LISS-3 multispectral sensors that provide 23.5-meter

resolution multispectral coverage.

The 23.5-meter resolution imagery is resampled to produce

20-meter pixel detail. These features combine to enable customers to

map landcover, monitor water pollution, evaluate crop yields,

determine soil salinity and alkalinity, spot areas and extent of

deforestation, and identify transportation and utility corridors,

among a myriad of other potential applications.

"The high quality of imagery from IRS-1C has enabled us to use

this information in a number of valuable applications for the people

of India," said N. Sampath, executive director of ANTRIX. "IRS-1D

will help us take even greater advantage of this resource to improve

agricultural efficiency, perform glacial-lake/flood monitoring, and

conduct hydrology studies, just to name a few of the many uses. We

are very gratified that so many users worldwide are also discovering

the benefits of this high-quality Earth imagery."

Space Imaging EOSAT is the world's largest single supplier of

space imagery, aerial photography, mapping services, and derivative

geographic information products and services. The company supplies

these products and services to commercial government and consumer

users worldwide. Space Imaging EOSAT also collects and distributes

imagery derived from the Indian IRS satellites, the U.S. Landsat

satellites, the Canadian Space Agency's RADARSAT, Japan's JERS, and

the European Space Agency's ERS satellites.

Space Imaging EOSAT also delivers a broad array of aerial-derived

information products through its Mapping Alliance Program (MAP). The

company will launch the world's first commercial one-meter resolution

satellite, IKONOS 1, in December.