Cartosat-3 is an advanced Indian Earth observation satellite built and developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which replaces the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) series. It has a panchromatic resolution of 0.25 metres making it one of the imaging satellite with highest resolution in the world at the time of launch and MX of 1 metre with a high quality resolution which is a major improvement from the previous payloads in the Cartosat series.[3][4][5]
Potential uses include weather mapping, cartography or defence, and strategic applications.[3]
Cartosat-3 has a resolution of 25 cm (10").[6] It uses 1.2 m optics with 60% of weight removal compared to Cartosat-2. Other features include the use of adaptive optics, acousto optical devices, in-orbit focusing using MEMs and large area-light weight mirrors and advanced sense with a high quality resolution. It has a planned mission life of 5 years.[7] Approved cost of Cartosat-3 is ₹351.16 crore (US$42 million).[8] It captures Panchromatic and Multispectral images with spectral bandwidth from 0.45 - 0.9 μm which includes visible blue (0.45 - 0.52 μm), visible green (0.52 - 0.59 μm), visible red (0.62 - 0.68 μm) and near IR (0.77 - 0.86 μm).[9]
Cartosat-3 is the 3rd generation of high-resolution imaging satellites developed by ISRO.[10] It was developed in response to increased demand for imaging services to address urban planning, rural resource and infrastructure development needs.[11]
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).
