SPECIAL SECTION: RADAR IMAGING SATELLITE-1

RISAT-1 spacecraft configuration:

architecture, technology and performance
N. Valarmathi1,*, R. N. Tyagi2, S. M. Kamath1, B. Trinatha Reddy1,
M. VenkataRamana1, V. V. Srinivasan1, Chayan Dutta1, N. Veena1,
K. Venketesh1, G. N. Raveendranath1, G. Ravi Chandra Babu1,
K. Sreenivasa Prasad1, Rajeev R. Badagandi1, P. Natarajan1, S. Sudhakar1,
J. Subhalakshmi3, Sreenivasa Rao4 and M. Krishna Reddy5
1
ISRO Satellite Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, Bangalore 560 017, India
2
Formerly with ISRO Satellite Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, Bangalore 560 017, India
3
Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems, and 4Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, Bangalore 560 058, India
5
ISRO Inertial Systems Unit, Indian Space Research Organisation, Thiruvananthapuram 695 013, India

technology provides data on structural information to

RISAT-1 is the first indigenous active Radar Imaging
Satellite launched by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle geologists for mineral exploration, oil spill boundaries on
(PSLV) in April 2012 from Sriharikota. It carries C- water to environmentalists, state of the sea and ice hazard
band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload which maps to navigators and reconnaissance data to strategic
can operate at various values of resolution and swath applications. SAR data is well suited for the quantitative
for various applications. RISAT-1 is the heaviest and observation of critical national and global resources such
high-power satellite with many new technologies to as tropical forests and will be a primary source of infor-
support the SAR payload and the associated elements. mation for resource-monitoring and analysis.
RISAT-1 operates at polar sun-synchronous orbit of The SAR programme began with C-band SAR for air-
536 km altitude with the inclination of 97.554° and it borne applications and the user community is provided
is designed for 5 years lifetime. Performance of the with imagery from airborne SAR and C-band imagery
spacecraft system and the SAR payload is satisfactory.
from RADARSAT-1/RADARSAT-2. The attributes of
This article outlines the architecture, design and on-
orbit performance of RISAT-1. SAR imagery depend upon the sensor parameters such as
frequency, polarization, look angle and the attributes of
objects such as surface roughness, moisture content, ori-
Keywords: Architecture and design, radar imaging sat- entation, dielectric constant, etc. Thus C-band was chosen
ellite, synthetic aperture radar payload. for RISAT-1 to cater to a wide variety of applications.
The mission elements of RISAT-1 are:
Introduction
• Space segment comprising three-axis stabilized satel-
lite, flying SAR payload and mainframe systems.
THE space-based remote sensing programme is applica-
• Data reception, recording, processing and dissemina-
tions-driven and covers observations on land, ocean and
tion facilities having the required hardware and soft-
atmosphere. To serve these applications effectively, satel-
ware components on ground.
lites need to fly various types of sensors which may oper-
• Spacecraft control centre for tracking, commanding
ate in optical or microwave region of the electromagnetic
and receiving telemetry data for satellite health moni-
spectrum. So far ISRO has operated satellites using both
toring and analysis, orbit maintenance and payload
regions. While Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS)
programming functions.
series of satellites were mainly based on electro-optical
• Development of user-friendly data products and data
sensors, there are other sensors like Multi-frequency
archival.
Scanning Microwave Radiometer (MSMR), scatterometer
and X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) on
OCEANSAT-1, OCEANSAT-2 and RISAT-2 respec- Orbit choice for RISAT-1
tively. Sensors operating in microwave region of elec-
tromagnetic spectrum have the capability to provide data The main guiding parameter for choosing the orbit for
during the day, night and all weather conditions. SAR RISAT-1 is achieving global coverage in a systematic
way for a given swath. Other considerations such as the
presence of atomic oxygen and atmospheric drag have
*For correspondence. (e-mail: [email protected]) also been kept in view.
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Figure 1. Block diagram of RISAT-1 spacecraft.

A polar sun-synchronous orbit at 536.38 km altitude has a unique structure carrying elements of bus system
and inclination of 97.554° with repetivity cycle of 377 and payload system which is different from earlier remote
orbits in 25 days is chosen. Global coverage is achieved sensing missions. The spacecraft bus subsystems provide
twice in the repetivity cycle, once by a set of descending basic housekeeping functions like orbit correction, atti-
passes and next by a set of ascending passes, as SAR is a tude determination, thermal control, electrical power gen-
microwave payload with no illumination constraints. eration and distribution, ground communications, SAR
image data handling and storage and data transmission to
the ground. The bus module contains all the necessary
RISAT-1 configuration and architecture
systems to operate and maintain the spacecraft in orbit
and support the SAR payload. The overall mechanical
RISAT-1 is a high power, heavy-weight active micro-
configuration of RISAT-1 is simple and efficient. It also
wave satellite. It is a 3-axis stabilized satellite operating
satisfies the envelope and Centre of Gravity (CG) con-
in sun-synchronous 6 a.m.–6 p.m. orbit of 536 km. It car-
straints/requirements of the launch vehicle. PSLV-XL
ries the SAR payload supported by other mainframe ele-
was the launch vehicle for RISAT-1 spacecraft.
ments. It can take images with ± 36° roll bias on orbit.
Stowed configuration of RISAT-1 at the launch pad
The architecture is similar to that of earlier missions such
inside Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is shown in
that it supports the synthetic aperture microwave payload,
Figure 2 and the deployed configuration of RISAT-1 is
electrically and mechanically. RISAT-1 adapted a tech-
shown in Figure 3.
nology for the mainframe system in order to meet its
specification and requirements. The basic block diagram
of RISAT-1 is given in Figure 1. It carries many new ele- RISAT-1 design
ments (with new designs) like power, battery, X-band
modulator, phased array antenna (PAA), on-board com- Structure
puter, reaction wheels, solar array drive electronics and
assembly, payload data handling system, structure and The structure is designed to meet the stiffness, strength
SAR antenna deployment mechanism. Single-point fail- and pointing requirements of the payload, sensors and
ure and redundancy for the subsystems have been taken also confining the overall bus volume within the launch
care in the configuration. vehicle envelope. It is based on a single bus concept built
The structure is built around a central cylinder with around a central cylinder. A truncated triangular structure
equipment decks for accommodation of subsystems. It is built around the cylinder to hold the SAR antenna and

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major bus service elements. A cuboid structure is built on is built. The radiation patch antennae are bonded on one
top of the cylinder to accommodate the solar arrays, ma- side of the Tile substrate and the Tile electronics mounted
jority of the sensors and antennae. The primary structure on the other side of the substrate. Four Tiles form a panel
consists of a central cylinder, interface rings and shear for the SAR antenna. To support these four Tiles, a
webs. The central cylinder is of sandwich construction framed structure is evolved. Most of the sensors, anten-
with aluminium core and carbon-fibre-reinforced polymer nae, solar arrays and their associated electronics are
(CFRP) face skin. It has an aluminium alloy interface mounted in the cuboid module. RISAT-1 main structure
ring at the bottom to interface with the launch vehicle. is shown in Figure 4.
The cylinder also provides interface for the propellant The subsystem layout has been evolved considering
tank and reaction wheel deck. Secondary structures con- various factors like electrical requirements, interfaces
sist of equipment panels/decks of the payload module and among various subsystems, physical size and location
the cuboid module. feasibility, look angle and field-of-view (FOV) require-
The payload module structure consists of three equip- ments of various elements (payloads, sensors, antennae),
ment panels, three corner panels and top and bottom deck. thermal requirements, mechanical loads, transmissibility
All the equipment panels and corner panels of the payload factors, physical parameters and balancing, ease of
module are made of sandwich construction with aluminium assembly/dis-assembly and accessibility during assembly,
core and aluminium face skin, whereas the shear webs are integration and testing (AIT) and pre-launch operations.
made of sandwich construction with CFRP face skin. The All the subsystem electronics packages are accommo-
triangular decks carry the hold-down brackets to hold the dated on the equipment decks/panels.
SAR antenna in launch configuration. The payload module (triangular structure) accommo-
The SAR antenna is comprised of three panels, of dates most of the mainframe systems and the payload
which one is fixed and the other two are stowed onto electronics. The cuboid module accommodates solar
either sides of the triangular structure during launch and arrays, most of the sensors and antennae, viz. Digital Sun
are deployed in the orbit. Tile Substrate and Panel Frame Sensor (DSS), Solar Panel Sun Sensor (SPSS), Earth
are two basic structures over which the SAR payload Sensor (ES), 4π Sun Sensors, PAA, TTC Antennae and
Satellite Positioning System (SPS). All the Reaction Con-
trol System (RCS) components are accommodated on one
of the shear webs and the exterior surface of the triangu-
lar bottom deck. The propellant tank is mounted inside
the main cylinder. The reaction wheels are mounted on a
circular deck in a tetrahedral configuration. The circular

Figure 2. Stowed configuration of RISAT-1.

Figure 3. Deployed configuration of RISAT-1. Figure 4. RISAT-1 main structure.

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deck is accommodated inside the main cylinder below the pensating the roll bias (± 36°) given during payload
tank and is connected to the cylinder through a ring. operation and also aids in obtaining more generation near
pole transit.
Thermal system The energy storage system for RISAT-1 employs a
single NiH2 battery of 70AH capacity to meet the peak
Thermal design should maintain the temperatures of the load requirement and also the eclipse requirement.
subsystems within design limits during all conditions of It is a single-bus system operating at 70 V and the con-
operation, all seasons and throughout the lifetime of the figuration is arrived at to meet all the requirements of
spacecraft. users and interfaces. During the sunlit period, the array is
The configuration and equatorial crossing time of regulated to 70 V and the battery gets charged. A Battery
RISAT-1 are different from other satellites in the IRS Discharge Regulator (BDR) supports power to the bus
series. Though it is an earth-oriented satellite, during pay- when the load demand exceeds the array generation dur-
load operation the satellite will be rotated by ± 36° about ing payload operation and eclipse conditions by regulating
roll axis. This new configuration, orientation and equato- the bus to 70 V. Bus voltage selection is mainly driven by
rial crossing time result in new external load patterns and payload requirement. The single bus of 70 V is fully pro-
extreme load conditions which are different from other tected against over voltage, over current and is single-
IRS satellites. Moreover, a number of heat dissipating point failure proof. The bus is distributed to all users
packages are accommodated inside the structure. through fuses, centrally located in fuse-distribution pack-
Thermal control is provided using space-proven ther- ages. Software Logics (software resident in the on-board
mal control elements such as optical solar reflector controller) enhances the safety of the power system.
(OSR), multilayer insulation (MLI), paints, thermal con-
trol tapes, quartz wool blanket, sink plates and heat pipes.
In addition, heaters will be provided to maintain tempera- On-board computer
tures during cold conditions.
In order to minimize power, weight and volume, the
spacecraft functions like commanding, housekeeping (tele-
Mechanism metry), attitude and orbit control, thermal management,
sensor data processing, etc. have been integrated into a
RISAT-1 spacecraft employs SAR antenna deployment single package called On-board Computer (OBC), which
mechanism and solar array deployment mechanism. SAR also implements the MIL STD 1553B protocol for interfac-
antenna and solar array are stowed during the launch and ing with other subsystems of the spacecraft (Figure 5).
are deployed in the orbit in order to meet the constraints The use of MIL STD 1553B interfaces between OBC
imposed by the launch vehicle. In order to perform and other subsystems greatly decreases the volume and
deployment in the orbit, a hold-down and release mecha- mass of cabling, and the associated connectors. The OBC
nism is employed. The solar array deployment mecha- system is realized with the functions of sensor electron-
nism is identical to earlier IRS missions. ics, command processing, telemetry and house-keeping,
The deployed SAR antenna has dimensions of attitude and orbit control and thermal management.
6.29 m × 2.09 m × 0.220 m. It consists of three panels out Besides, the OBC interfaces with power, telemetry–
of which one is rigidly attached to the triangular struc- telecommand (TM–TC; RF) for command and telemetry,
ture. In the launch configuration, the deployable panels sensors, heaters, thrusters and reaction wheels through
are folded over the triangular structure and are held by special logics.
using a hold-down mechanism. In the orbit both the
deployable panels are released sequentially and deployed.
The mass of each panel is about 290 kg.

Electrical power system: The power system consists of

solar array for power generation, chemical battery for
power storage and power electronics for power condition-
ing and distribution. It is designed to meet the 6 a.m./
6 p.m. orbit illumination conditions, large power re-
quirement of SAR payload and solar eclipse conditions
during summer solstice.
The solar array consists of six panels arranged in two
wings with three panels in each wing in positive roll and
negative roll axes. The array consists of multi-junction
cells connected in series and parallel for optimum con-
figuration. The solar array drive assembly helps in com- Figure 5. Block diagram of on-board computer.

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Integrated control subsystem: AOCS specifications dur- (PLL) coherent S-band transponder connected to a com-
ing imaging are as follows: pointing: ± 0.05° (3σ ); drift mon antenna system. The basic configuration is identical
rate: ± 3.0e-04°/s (3σ ). to the ones employed in earlier IRS missions. The TC
The AOCS configuration is as follows: The attitude demodulation scheme is phase shift keying (PSK)/pulse
orbit control system for RISAT-1 is configured with 4π code modulation (PCM) with a date rate of 4 kbps. The
Sun Sensor, Magnetometer, Inertial Reference Unit transponder consists of a receiving and transmitting sys-
(IRU), Star Sensor, Earth Sensor, Digital Sun Sensor and tem and can operate in either coherent or non-coherent
Solar Panel Sun Sensor. Acutators are eight numbers of mode. Range and two-way Doppler data from the trans-
canted 11 N thrusters (mono propellant hydrazine system ponder are useful for orbit determination.
operating in blow-down mode) with two-axis canting
from + pitch axis for acquisition and OM operation, 1 Payload Data Handling Subsystem
number of central 11 N thruster for OM operation, 4
numbers of reaction wheels (of capacity 0.3 Nm torque RISAT-1 payload data need to be transmitted either in
and 50.0 NMS) mounted in tetrahedral configuration real time or in playback mode depending upon the data
about – pitch axis and magnetic torquers of 60.0 A m2 rates at different modes. The data-handling system of
capacity for momentum dumping. Sun sensors, star sen- RISAT-1 is configured with two formatters for each of
sors and magnetometer provide attitude data in the form the SAR payload receivers respectively (Figure 7).
of absolute attitude errors. The magnetometer, 4π sun They are high data rate formatters for different data
sensor and temperature sensor data are processed in OBC. rates of payload with memories for burst data formatting.
All AOCS software modules are implemented in OBC. Systems have been realized by field-programmable gate
arrays (FPGAs) and the design is optimized for weight,
Reaction Control System power and volume. When the data rate of SAR payload
and BDH overhead together is greater than 640 Mbps,
The reaction control system comprises propellant tank, real-time transmission is not possible and the data is
thrusters (9 numbers of 11 N), latch valves, fill and drain/ recorded in SSR. Recorded data can be played back later.
vent valves, pressure transducers, system filters, thermo- Data handling system can operate in real time, real-time
couples, flow control valves and titanium tubes to con- stretch mode, record and playback modes.
nect all the reaction control elements. Block schematic of
reaction control system is given in Figure 6. One central
Solid State Recorder
11 N thruster is meant for orbit control and the remaining
eight 11 N thrusters for attitude control. The RISAT-1 Solid State Recorder (SSR) has a capacity
of 300 Gbits, realized with six memory boards of
Telemetry Tracking and Command Subsystem 50 Gbits capacity each. The memory boards, by default
are configured into two partitions each of 150 Gbits with
The Telemetry, Tracking and Command (RF) system for three memory boards per partition. The SSR has two con-
RISAT-1 consists of two chains of Phase Locked Loop trol units for configuring and controlling the internal op-
erations. The controller has two separate 32-bit parallel
interface with memory boards. The default configuration

Figure 6. Block schematic of reaction control system. Figure 7. Payload data formatters.

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is for two partitions; however, the system can be config- those elements which can contribute significantly towards
ured for single partition with allocation of all the memory the beam direction. It is proposed to use the 64 element
boards to the selected partition. The SSR is able to man- array.
age up to 32 different files for each input port. Operationally it consists of two identical phased arrays,
The memory management guarantees the usage of all one operating in RHCP and the other operating in LHCP,
good devices by automatic configuration after the diag- and located in the same hardware. On the spherical dome
nostics command is issued. an element is located at a defined location. A waveguide
The allocation of address during recording is managed radiating element fed by a septum polarizer is planned
by the SSR and ground control will not be possible. Erase and this has two ports, one for RHCP and the other for
operation of files is carried out by a command with the LHCP. The radiating element is optimized to provide the
file identifier. Playback with segment erase is also one of required isolation (better than –25 dB) between the two
the options wherein the segments played back shall be re- polarizations to minimize the interference.
leased, with a gap of one segment. The record operation The RHCP and LHCP ports of the phased array are
depends on the available free space in the SSR capacity. connected to two separate sets of power dividers and
It is possible to read the data files in any order and any monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) ampli-
number of times. The bit error rate (BER) at SSR level is fiers. A common beam steering electronics controls the
better than 1 × 10–12. switch position and phase setting for all the MMIC am-
The memory plan is constituted by four physical levels, plifiers. Data transmission chain is given in Figure 8.
namely memory device level, memory module level,
memory bank level and board level and partition level.
Satellite Positioning System
There are a total of six memory boards which can be
switched ON/OFF by command.
Satellite Positioning System (SPS) for RISAT-1 com-
prises 10-channel C/A code GPS receiver at L1
X-band RF (1575.42 MHz) frequency. SPS is designed for computing
the state vector of the high-dynamic platform.
The X-band RF is required to accept the payload data SPS for RISAT-1 will have full-chain (end-to-end)
from the baseband data handling system, modulate the redundancy. Each chain consists of a receiving antenna,
above data on two X-band carriers and transmit the same low-noise amplifier, RF amplifier and power divider in
to the ground after suitable amplification and filtering. L-band followed by a 10-channel and 8-channel GPS
The SAR payload of RISAT-1 when operated in dual receiver with MIL 1553B interface. Each GPS receiver
polarization imaging mode generates data at the rate of consists of two high dynamics GPS receiver core engine
640 Mbps and this needs to be transmitted to the ground (RCE) modules to compute state vectors and one receiver
stations. Data rates up to 170 Mbps have been transmitted chain will be active at a time.
at X-band using shaped beam antenna in earlier missions SPS is placed in RISAT-1 to track GPS signals con-
like IRS-1C/1D and PAA in Technology experiment tinuously. It requires an antenna system with hemispheri-
satellite. In order to meet the high data rate transmission cal radiation coverage to receive the circularly polarized
requirement in X-band quadrature phase shift keying GPS signal from the navigational satellites. Micro-strip
(QPSK) modulation with frequency reuse by polarization patch antenna is used for this application.
discrimination is implemented.
In the data transmission for RISAT-1, half the data, i.e.
RISAT-1 specifications, new elements and
320 Mbps will be transmitted in right-hand circular
challenges
polarization (RHCP) and the remaining 320 Mbps in the
left-hand circular polarization (LHCP); two identical
For all the new elements, the concept was proved with
chains operating at X-band are used to transmit 640 Mbps
developmental model followed by qualification model
of payload data. The carrier generation section, QPSK
and flight model. Baseline design review (only for new
modulator section, filter units, selection of main and
elements), preliminary design review, detailed design re-
redundant chain units are identical in all the chains as the
view have been conducted for all the subsystems and the
frequency of operation and modulation schemes is identi-
recommendations have been implemented successfully.
cal. Both the chains have end-to-end redundancy.
Preliminary design review and critical design review
were conducted for the space segment and the ground
Phased Array Antenna segment. Thermal analysis, derating analysis and failure
mode, effects and criticality analysis (FMECA) were car-
The spherical PAA has radiating elements distributed ried out for all the subsystems and suitable measures have
almost uniformly on a hemispherical surface. It generates been adopted. Fabrication procedure/new processing
a beam in the required direction by switching ‘ON’ only has been followed after due approval by the Material
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Figure 8. Data flow from SAR payload to Phased Array Antenna.

Table 1. RSIAT-1 Major specifications RF cables, power lines and control signal lines which
Orbit 536.38 km, 6 a.m.–6 p.m. demanded proficiency in carrying out the assembly inte-
Inclination 97.554° gration activities. Disassembled configuration to assem-
SAR payload C-band (5.35 GHz) bled configuration was executed faultlessly. Testing the
SAR payload operating modes CRS, MRS, FRS1, FRS2, HRS (with microwave payload and the related mainframe elements
linear and circular polarization)
was quite taxing at all test phases and SAR testing called
Resolution 1–50 m
Data rate for transmission 2 × 320 Mbps for antennae panel in deployed condition.
SSR 240 Gbits Handling RISAT-1 satellite which is the heaviest satel-
TT&C S-band lite of mass 1858 kg in the remote sensing satellite class
Payload down link X-band (frequency reuse) and high power of 4200 W at all test phases, was the big-
Power Regulated bus 70 V/42 V/U-bus
gest task. Thermovac test posed a big challenge for the
Battery 70 AH
Telecommand 4 Kbps PSK team. The spacecraft was positioned inside the thermovac
Telemetry 4 Kbps PSK chamber in deployed condition with thermal instrumenta-
Satellite mass 1858 Kg tion (Figure 9). The thermovac test was conducted suc-
cessfully.
Special tests, namely radiation, EMI/EMC, RF com-
Review Board. Test and evaluation results of all the sub- patibility, wheel interaction test with main structure (by
systems were submitted for review. hanging the satellite in on condition with wheels opera-
Total number of RISAT-1 subsystems were 1300 tion) and polarity test were conducted. The satellite
(approx.) with many controllers, DC–DC converters, high underwent vibration test and acoustic test in the new
frequency and high dissipating packages, a variety of acoustic test facility at ISITE. Pre-launch test at SHAR
interfaces (MIL STD 1553 B, RS 422, RS 488, LVDS), was executed smoothly. Fuel filling was the final activity

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before PSLV mating and was executed accurately as the according to mission requirements soon after the space-
mass of RISAT-1 had to meet the requirement of PSLV. craft separation from PSLV. The performance of the
RCS performance was critical for raising the orbit to mechanism systems is listed in Table 3.
536 km from 436 km. Data reception, data processing and Orbit manoeuvres were carried out to raise RISAT-1
data product generation (first of their kind) are being exe- from the present orbit to 536 km and also get it ready for
cuted earnestly. operational services. Reaction control system completed
its task according to design. The fuel available on-board
is estimated to be 53.485 kg. Considering all aspects of
Performance of RISAT-1 system fuel consumption, the RISAT-1 can be expected to have a
useful life of more than design value. SPS data is the pri-
After mating with PSLV, launch base configuration mary mode of orbit determination for this mission and the
of RISAT-1 was selected according to plan. PSLV had in- performance of the same is satisfactory.
jected the spacecraft into 436 km orbit. Solar arrays and On-board computer performance is normal. Launch
SAR antenna panels were deployed by snap command phase sequencer operations for deployment of solar array
and SAR panels were executed successfully. Initial
Table 2. RISAT-1 new elements acquisition with inertial acquisition (IAC) mode and later
Subsystem (no heritage) Highlight earth acquisition operations were normal. Safety logics
SAR payload Based on TR module architecture are enabled. Interfaces with sensors, actuators, power and
Structure Triangular prism, cuboid module, thermal systems are functioning well. On-board perform-
tile frame, tiles, etc. ance of inertial reference unit (IRU) is satisfactory and all
Thermal systems Designed for 6 a.m.–6 p.m. orbit
performance parameters are within specified limits.
Mechanism SAR antenna deployment for 300 kg panel
Reaction wheels 50 NMS angular momentum and 0.3 NM The telemetry, tracking and command system has been
torque for mission manoeuvre providing health information, access to configuring the
Power 70 V bus high power (4.2 KW) spacecraft for various routine operational requirements.
Battery 70 AH NiH2 The link margins on S-band uplink and downlink are
BDH 320 Mbps (variable data rate)
above 15 dB as observed from ISTRAC ground stations.
X-band system High data rate modulator 320 Mbps
Phased array antenna Wave guide antenna with RHCP and LHCP The telemetry data storage and SPS data storage system is
SSR 300 Gb with high data rate handling operated routinely in every orbit to assess the health of
the spacecraft even outside the network visibility.
Solar array power generation is 2100 W and power gen-
eration started right after the heat shield separation. The
power system has been generating, conditioning and sup-
porting the various load requirements of all the systems.
Battery supported the launch, all the initial operations like
orbit manoeuvres and payload operations successfully, and
support continues subsequently for payload operation and
eclipse conditions. Battery charging operation is automati-
cally taking place according to the set rate and charge ter-
mination voltage. Power system performance is normal and
all modes of payload operations are well supported.
Attitude and orbit control system (AOCS) has been
performing well in the three-axis stabilized mode. Vari-
ous modes of AOCS have been exercised and the per-
formance is normal. Four reaction wheels, two gyros and
a star sensor with corresponding control electronics have
been maintaining the attitude of the spacecraft within the
specified limits. Earth sensors are used for safe mode
detection. Spacecraft rates during three-axis acquisition
are given in Figure 10. Attitude performance during first
payload operation is given in Figure 11.
A summary of AOCS performance is as follows:

• Pointing out errors during imaging within 0.0034°.

• Residual S/C body rates during imaging:
yaw: 3 × 10–5 deg/sec, roll: 5 × 10–5 deg/sec,
Figure 9. RISAT-1 spacecraft in thermovac. pitch: 2 × 10–5 deg/sec.

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Figure 10. Spacecraft rates during three-axis acquisition.

Figure 11. Attitude performance during first payload operation.

• S/C pointing error as measured by star sensor: MLI, OSR, thermal control tapes, heat sink plates) is
yaw: 0.03°, roll: 0.01–0.04°, pitch: 0.05–0.08°. normal and as expected. Temperatures of spacecraft and
on-board systems are matching closely with the predicted
On-board performance of all four reaction wheels is satis- values for on-orbit cold season. ATC heaters for payload,
factory. Wheel current and bearing temperature are within battery, RCS elements, wheels, SSR, BDR, PAA and
specified limits. Wheel speed during payload operations cuboid are enabled and operating with predicted duty
is according to expectation (Figure 12). cycles.
Thermal performance of RISAT-1 spacecraft is normal RISAT-1 has been functioning satisfactorily and the in-
and as expected. Temperatures are stable. Functioning of orbit operations are being executed according to plan.
all thermal control elements (253 temperature sensors, The mainframe has been supporting the payload opera-
133 heaters, 54 heat pipes, 13 m2 of quartz wool blanket, tions and the SAR payload is sending quality pictures

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Figure 12. Speed of wheels during payload operations.

Figure 13. Sample of RISAT-1 images.

Table 3. On-orbit performance of the mechanism systems Conclusions

On-orbit predicted Actual on-orbit
Subsystem deployment time (sec) deployment time (sec) With the launching and operationalization of RISAT-1,
India has emerged as one of the few counties in the world
P2-SAR antenna 87 87.17
with a capability of using satellite-based microwave
P3-SAR antenna 81 80.89
+ Roll solar array 6.8 6.4 remotely-sensed data for various resource applications on
– Roll solar array 6.6 6.34 an operational basis. The capabilities of RISAT-1 are
comparable with other contemporary satellite missions.
RISAT-1 has thus laid a strong foundation for the future
of microwave remote sensing activities in the country.
during morning and evening passes over India. Various
Advanced versions of SAR missions will provide the con-
modes of payload are carried out in sequencer mode
tinuity of RISAT-1 services to the user community in
(auto) through timers which are set prior to the intended
India in the coming years.
operations by the spacecraft control centre personnel. All
special requests and events of importance in and around
India are being covered. Sample data products of FRS 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. We thank Chairman, ISRO, Director,
and MRS are given in Figure 13. ISAC and Programme Director (IRS&SSS) for their support and en-
couragement throughout the project. We thank Centre Director of various
The X-band data transmission link has been performing ISRO Centres and Units for their guidance and support. We also thank
satisfactorily and the margin established during initial the various Groups and the Facilities of ISRO Satellite Centre, which
phase is still valid and satisfactory. have been involved in the development and realization of this mission.

CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 104, NO. 4, 25 FEBRUARY 2013 471