India to launch satellite to monitor sea water levels
By IANSWednesday, August 11, 2010
NEW DELHI - India will launch a satellite to monitor sea water levels in collaboration with the French space agency, Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan said Wednesday.
The satellite, called Saral, will carry an altimetre (ALTIKA) for studying the sea surface heights and an ARGOS payload, which is a satellite-based data collection platform.
“The project is a joint project of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the French National Space Agency (FNSA). The ALTIKA and ARGOS payloads are built and supplied by the French space agency. The satellite building and launching are the responsibilities of ISRO,” Chavan told the Lok Sabha.
The minister said the satellite is likely to be launched in 2011.
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