IRS-1C

India's second-generation remote sensing satellite, launched in December 1995, whose PAN camera saw details finer than 6 m.

No longer operational, according to the public satellite catalogue.

What it did

IRS-1C improved on IRS-1A and 1B with sharper images, an extra spectral band and more frequent revisits. It carried three push-broom cameras:

  • PAN, a panchromatic (black-and-white) camera with resolution finer than 6 m and a 70 km swath. It could be tilted up to 26° to either side to take stereo pairs and revisit a spot within 5 days.
  • LISS-3, a four-band multispectral camera with 23.6 m resolution.
  • WiFS, a wide-field camera with 189 m resolution and an 810 km swath.

Spacecraft

IRS-1C weighed 1,250 kg. Solar panels of 9.6 square metres gave it 809 watts. It was three-axis stabilised with four reaction wheels and a magnetic torquer, and carried a tape recorder that could store 62 gigabits.

Launch and orbit

A Russian Molniya rocket launched IRS-1C from Baikonur on 28 December 1995. It flew a polar sun-synchronous orbit at 817 km, crossing the equator at 10:30 a.m., with a 24-day repeat cycle.

Mission status

The mission ended on 21 September 2007, after 11 years and 8 months.

Sources

  1. IRS-1C — satellite catalogue record (NORAD 23751) — CelesTrak
  2. IRS-1C — ISRO
  3. IRS 1C, 1D — Gunter's Space Page
  4. List of DoS/ISRO satellites launched so far (10 April 2025) — ISRO