Bhaskara-I Satellite

It is the First Indian low orbit Earth Observation Satellite.
Launch Date : June 7, 1979

Weight : 444 Kg

Orbit : 619 x 562 km inclined at 50.7 deg
        and it was launched by Soviet Intercosmos rocket.

Bhaskara 1 and 2: Named after a 12th Century Indian mathematician/astronomer.

Bhaskara-1 was launched on 7th June 1979 from Kapustin Yar aboard the

Kosmos-3M launch vehicle. 

The main objectives were to conduct earth

observation experiments for applications related to hydrology, forestry, and

geology using a two-band TV camera system, and to conduct ocean-surface

studies using a two-frequency satellite microwave radiometer system. Secondary

objectives were to test engineering and data processing systems, to collect

limited meteorological data from remote platforms, and to conduct scientific

investigations in X-ray astronomy. Bhaskara 1 was a 444 kg 26-faced quasispherical

polyhedron with a 1.66 m height and 1.55 m diameter. Bhaskara-2 was

launched on 20 November 1981 also from Kapustin Yar. It was declared

operational after receipt of 300 television images of the Indian sub-continent. The

housekeeping telemetry was still being received until 1991. It re-entered orbit on

30 November 1991.