Friday, 03 Oct, 2025
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NISAR is the first satellite mission of its kind to operate two radar systems, L-band and S-band on a single, free-flying platform. Image Credits: NASA
Lifting off at 5:40 p.m. IST (8:10 a.m. EDT) aboard an ISRO Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), NISAR will offer precise measurements of land and ice movement, down to the centimeter.
In a landmark moment for U.S.-India space collaboration, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite was successfully launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The mission, jointly developed by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is set to revolutionize Earth observation with its cutting-edge radar system capable of producing high-resolution, three-dimensional maps of the planet’s surface.
Lifting off at 5:40 p.m. IST (8:10 a.m. EDT) aboard an ISRO Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), NISAR will offer precise measurements of land and ice movement, down to the centimeter. Highlighted earlier this year as a key initiative under the U.S.–India civil space cooperation, the satellite aims to bolster disaster response, infrastructure monitoring, and agricultural planning. ISRO confirmed communication with the satellite roughly 20 minutes post-launch, reporting that all systems are functioning nominally.
Orbiting 464 miles (747 kilometers) above Earth, the NISAR satellite is equipped with two sophisticated radar systems designed to monitor environmental changes with remarkable precision. It will track alterations in forests and wetlands, measure shifts in the planet’s frozen regions, and detect minute movements in the Earth’s crust, crucial for understanding seismic activity, volcanic eruptions, and landslides. By scanning nearly all land and ice-covered surfaces across the globe twice every 12 days, NISAR will offer an unprecedented view of dynamic Earth processes, including remote areas of the southern polar regions that are often overlooked by other radar satellites. The mission’s data will also provide valuable insights into long-term changes in ecosystems such as forests, farmlands, wetlands, and permafrost zones.
Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington said, “Congratulations to the entire NISAR mission team on a successful launch that spanned across multiple time zones and continents in the first-ever partnership between NASA and ISRO on a mission of this sheer magnitude.”
“ISRO’s GSLV has precisely injected the NISAR satellite into the intended orbit, 747 kilometers. I am happy to inform you that this is GSLV’s first mission to Sun-synchronous polar orbit. With this successful launch, we are at the threshold of fulfilling the immense scientific potential NASA and ISRO envisioned for the NISAR mission more than 10 years ago. The powerful capability of this radar mission will help us study Earth’s dynamic land and ice surfaces in greater detail than ever before.” said ISRO Chairman V Narayanan.
NISAR is the first satellite mission of its kind to operate two radar systems, L-band and S-band on a single, free-flying platform. Each radar band brings distinct capabilities: the L-band system is particularly effective at detecting soil moisture, forest biomass, and movements of land and ice, while the S-band radar is tailored for monitoring agriculture, grasslands, and infrastructure shifts. The combined use of both radar types significantly enhances NISAR’s observation power, surpassing the capabilities of previous synthetic aperture radar missions. Unlike optical instruments, NISAR’s radar can penetrate cloud cover and operate in all weather conditions, day or night, enabling continuous surface monitoring even during storms.
The mission represents a major milestone in U.S.-India space cooperation, with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California supplying the L-band radar and ISRO’s Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad responsible for the S-band radar. It is the first time the two space agencies have jointly developed hardware for an Earth science satellite.
The integration of both L-band and S-band radar systems on a single satellite marks a significant advancement in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) technology, building on a legacy that began for NASA with the 1978 launch of Seasat. ISRO, meanwhile, initiated its SAR program in 2012 with the Radar Imaging Satellite (RISAT-1), followed by RISAT-1A in 2022, to support diverse applications across India.
Over the next few weeks, NISAR will enter a 90-day commissioning phase during which it will deploy its 12-meter (39-foot) radar antenna reflector. This crucial component will transmit and receive microwave signals from both radars. By analyzing the differences in these signals, scientists will be able to extract detailed information about Earth's surface. With NISAR revisiting the same locations every 12 days, researchers can track changes over time and gain deeper understanding of Earth’s constantly shifting landscapes.
The NISAR mission represents a fully collaborative effort between NASA and ISRO. Managed by Caltech for NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is leading the U.S. contribution, which includes the L-band radar, the radar reflector, a deployable boom, high-rate data transmission systems, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder, and the payload data system.
On the Indian side, ISRO’s Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad is responsible for the S-band radar, including its calibration, data processing, and development of mission-specific science algorithms. The U R Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru provided the spacecraft bus, while the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre developed the launch vehicle. The launch was conducted from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, and satellite operations are being managed by the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network. The National Remote Sensing Centre in Hyderabad is overseeing the reception of S-band data, generating operational products, and ensuring their dissemination.
The joint satellite mission follows closely on the heels of astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla’s recent journey to the International Space Station as part of the AX-4 mission, which was commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson.
