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CHENNAI: The imaging and
communication satellites are proving to
be worth their weight in gold, what with
the sentinels in the sky helping the
nation save millions of lives during
natural disasters like cyclones. On this
occasion, too, the IMD has benefitted
fully from technology in dealing with
Phailin.
Until the 1970s, cyclones along Andhra
Pradesh and Orissa routinely claimed
thousands of lives. Now, the casualties
are several times lower, the exception
being the 1999 Odisha "super cyclone"
05B which killed more than 15,000
people. Today, with 11 Indian remote
sensing satellites in service, the National
Remote Sensing Centre in Hyderabad is
able to provide data that helps agencies
forecast cyclones more than 72 hours in
advance and evacuate people.
"In the 1960s and 1970s, cyclones on the
Andhra Pradesh coast killed people by
tens of thousands," says scientist P M
Bhargava who served as the National
Knowledge Commission vice-chairman.
"Of late, many cyclones have hit the
shores without causing a single casualty,
thanks to our remote sensing satellites."
Depending on remote sensing data from
the US, India had suffered delays and
denials at crucial times. India launched
its first experimental remote sensing
satellite Bhaskara-1 on June 7, 1979, but
disaster forecasting, live monitoring and
proactive management took a long time
to attain near-perfection. "Today, India's
array of remote sensing satellites - one of
the largest constellations in the world -
with spatial resolutions ranging from less
than a metre to 500 metres allows
accurate forecast and preparedness," says
Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro)
spokesperson Deviprasad Karnik. Isro
chairman K Radhakrishnan, in an earlier
interview with TOI, called it "a silent
contribution."
In the aftermath of disasters, like the
2001 Gujarat earthquake and the 2004
tsunami, Indian satellites played a crucial
role in mitigation. Risat-1 launched in
April last year and Risat-2 which has
been in orbit since April 2009 have the
ability to look for impending cyclones
even at night and through clouds. The
synthetic aperture radar in the satellites
enables applications in agriculture too,
especially for paddy monitoring during
kharif season. Saral, an Indio-French
satellite launched on February 25, 2013,
can study ocean circulation and sea
surface elevation.
"Those who criticise the expenditure on
space science don't realise its
contribution to not just saving lives but
alleviating poverty," says Bhargava, who
founded the Centre for Cellular and
Molecular Biology, Hyderabad. "You can
argue that the space department gets
higher allocation, but it is well justified.
After all, Indian space scientist makes
satellites and rockets at a fraction of the
cost of similar US projects."
If millions have been moved from the
Odisha coast to safety over the last two
days, part of the credit should go to
India's satellites, the sentinels in space.
Indian remote sensing satellites in
operation now:
Satellite Launch date
Saral February 25, 2013
Risat-1 April 26, 2012
Megha-Tropiques October 12, 2011
Resourcesat-2 April 20, 2011
Cartosat-2B July 12, 2010
Oceansat-2 September 23, 2009
Risat-2 April 20, 2009
Cartosat-2A April 28, 2008
Cartosat-2 January 10, 2007
Cartosat-1 May 05, 2005
Resourcesat-1 October 17, 2003
communication satellites are proving to
be worth their weight in gold, what with
the sentinels in the sky helping the
nation save millions of lives during
natural disasters like cyclones. On this
occasion, too, the IMD has benefitted
fully from technology in dealing with
Phailin.
Until the 1970s, cyclones along Andhra
Pradesh and Orissa routinely claimed
thousands of lives. Now, the casualties
are several times lower, the exception
being the 1999 Odisha "super cyclone"
05B which killed more than 15,000
people. Today, with 11 Indian remote
sensing satellites in service, the National
Remote Sensing Centre in Hyderabad is
able to provide data that helps agencies
forecast cyclones more than 72 hours in
advance and evacuate people.
"In the 1960s and 1970s, cyclones on the
Andhra Pradesh coast killed people by
tens of thousands," says scientist P M
Bhargava who served as the National
Knowledge Commission vice-chairman.
"Of late, many cyclones have hit the
shores without causing a single casualty,
thanks to our remote sensing satellites."
Depending on remote sensing data from
the US, India had suffered delays and
denials at crucial times. India launched
its first experimental remote sensing
satellite Bhaskara-1 on June 7, 1979, but
disaster forecasting, live monitoring and
proactive management took a long time
to attain near-perfection. "Today, India's
array of remote sensing satellites - one of
the largest constellations in the world -
with spatial resolutions ranging from less
than a metre to 500 metres allows
accurate forecast and preparedness," says
Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro)
spokesperson Deviprasad Karnik. Isro
chairman K Radhakrishnan, in an earlier
interview with TOI, called it "a silent
contribution."
In the aftermath of disasters, like the
2001 Gujarat earthquake and the 2004
tsunami, Indian satellites played a crucial
role in mitigation. Risat-1 launched in
April last year and Risat-2 which has
been in orbit since April 2009 have the
ability to look for impending cyclones
even at night and through clouds. The
synthetic aperture radar in the satellites
enables applications in agriculture too,
especially for paddy monitoring during
kharif season. Saral, an Indio-French
satellite launched on February 25, 2013,
can study ocean circulation and sea
surface elevation.
"Those who criticise the expenditure on
space science don't realise its
contribution to not just saving lives but
alleviating poverty," says Bhargava, who
founded the Centre for Cellular and
Molecular Biology, Hyderabad. "You can
argue that the space department gets
higher allocation, but it is well justified.
After all, Indian space scientist makes
satellites and rockets at a fraction of the
cost of similar US projects."
If millions have been moved from the
Odisha coast to safety over the last two
days, part of the credit should go to
India's satellites, the sentinels in space.
Indian remote sensing satellites in
operation now:
Satellite Launch date
Saral February 25, 2013
Risat-1 April 26, 2012
Megha-Tropiques October 12, 2011
Resourcesat-2 April 20, 2011
Cartosat-2B July 12, 2010
Oceansat-2 September 23, 2009
Risat-2 April 20, 2009
Cartosat-2A April 28, 2008
Cartosat-2 January 10, 2007
Cartosat-1 May 05, 2005
Resourcesat-1 October 17, 2003
