RISAT-1

RISAT-1 is an Indian Earth observation satellite used for agricultural monitoring, disaster management, and military reconnaissance. Because it uses a C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) payload, it can capture imagery of the Earth's surface in all weather conditions, including through clouds and at night.

RISAT-1 was launched in 2012 aboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota Island. The launch was conducted by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and placed the satellite into a near-polar sun-synchronous orbit.

Yes, RISAT-1 holds the distinction of being India's first indigenously developed radar imaging satellite, with its C-band SAR payload designed and built within India by ISRO. This was a significant milestone for ISRO's Earth observation program, as previous Indian satellites relied primarily on optical imaging.

RISAT-2 was launched earlier in 2009 but used an X-band SAR system procured from Israel, whereas RISAT-1 featured a fully indigenous C-band SAR payload that took longer to develop. The decision to launch the foreign-technology RISAT-2 first was partly driven by security considerations following the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which increased demand for all-weather surveillance capability.