The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is launching its heavy-weight rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), into orbit on Sunday, 16 September carrying two foreign satellites, according to a press release.

"The 16 September rocket launch will be a fully commercial launch,” K Sivan, Chairman of ISRO, told IANS.

“The rocket will be carrying only the two foreign satellites."

When and where is the launch?

The rocket will blast off from ISRO’s First Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, on 16 September.

The launch window opens at 09.45 pm, and will stay open till o1.45 am on Monday.

In the PSLV’s payload will be two British satellites, NovaSAR-1 and S1-4, made by Surrey Satellite Technologies Limited (SSTL) in the UK, a small satellite manufacturer.

Together, the pair of satellites will weigh 889 kgs, and will be released into a sun-synchronous orbit roughly 580 kilometres above the ground, an SSTL report says.

Once a space engineering spin-off from the University of Surrey, SSTL is now run largely by the Airbus Group’s Defence and Space division, which builds and operates SSTL’s small satellites.

What is the NovaSAR-1 satellite for?

It will test SSLT’s ability to provide earth observation and disaster management data for bidding customers.

NovaSAR's communication frequency falls under the ‘S band’, a microwave region in the electromagnetic spectrum between 2 and 4 GHz in frequency. This is the most widely-used band for mobile broadband, weather monitoring and ship radars worldwide.

The satellite is built with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) capabilities – a superior kind of radar imaging technology that produces 2D and 3D visuals of landscapes. It also doesn’t rely on daylight to capture its high-resolution visuals.

NovaSAR’s imaging prowess will be directed at monitoring forest, land use patterns and ice cover over time. It will also keep an eye out for potential floods and other looming natural disasters, according to SSTL’s press release.

What is the S1-4 satellite for?

It’s companion for the launch, the S1-4 satellite, is a high-resolution Earth observation satellite.

It can capture images of multiple different targets in a single pass above an area, the release says. All this clicking away at an impressive image resolution of under one meter.

The satellite is designed for use in urban planning, land use and agriculture, as well as natural resource and disaster monitoring.

Where can I watch the launch?

While the launch cannot be viewed by public inside the space centre, it will still be visible near the Pulicat Bird Sanctuary just outside Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.</s>NovaSAR-1 is designed and built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) in Guildford, with the UK Space Agency having invested £21million in the project. In return it will benefit from access to data from the spacecraft, consequently boosting the UK’s Earth observation capabilities and encouraging additional investment by creating highly skilled jobs in the UK space industry. The UK regularly punches above its weight when it comes to satellites, building 25 percent of the world’s telecommunications satellites. The Government is investing £92 million into a feasibility study which will look at the possibility of developing a rival to the EU’s Galileo satellite system after Britain quits the EU next year, in response to Brussels threats to exclude the UK from its Galileo global positioning system.

NovSAR-1 will offer low cost remote imaging to global customers, including the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), in a further indication of the UK’s lofty ambitions when it comes to the space sector as it looks to life after Brexit. Dr Graham Turnock, chief executive of the UK Space Agency, said: “This exciting new satellite, with its powerful imaging radar system and compact design, has been developed and built in the UK, and will provide a host of benefits for applications including the detection of oil spills, flood monitoring and agriculture. “The Government wants the UK to thrive in the commercial space age as part of the modern Industrial Strategy. “This mission demonstrates SSTL’s world leading skills and the exciting potential for further growth in our sector.”

Minister of State for the Department for International Trade, Baroness Fairhead, said: “SSTL is a fantastic example of how UK innovation and engineering can have a global impact. “It is clear that our space industry is thriving, resulting in significant growth which reinforces the UK’s reputation as a leader in the sector. “Overseas sales are vital to sustaining this growth, and our recently launched Export Strategy outlines the support available to companies to help them fulfil their exporting potential. “I would encourage companies that are looking to follow in SSTL’s footsteps to make use of financial support from UK Export Finance and the extensive export opportunities that are listed on GREAT.gov.uk.”

The UK is a world leader in Earth Observation technologies, including via the UK Space Agency’s International Partnership Programme (IPP). The IPP initiative harnesses the expertise of the British space sector to tackle problems all around the world, from predicting outbreaks of deadly dengue fever in Vietnam to improving healthcare in Nigeria using satellite connectivity. Additionally, IPP offers significant commercial opportunities, with Earth Observation satellite services estimated to support industries representing a total turnover of more than £235 billion. Since 1981, SSTL has built and launched more than 50 satellites for 20 international customers including in Europe, USA and Canada – as well as providing training and development programmes, consultancy services, and mission studies for ESA, NASA, international governments and commercial customers.</s>NovaSAR-1, designed and built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) in Guildford, will be able to see through clouds and image the world night and day.

The new spacecraft from SSTL will offer low cost remote imaging to global customers including the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

SSTL is a great British success story, which already has 40% of the world’s small satellite export market.

The data from this satellite, backed by a £21 million investment from the Government, will help innovative start-ups develop new apps that could revolutionise the way we live. It’s a great example of how we are working with the space sector through our modern Industrial Strategy, ensuring we remain at the forefront of pioneering science and exploration.

The UK is a world leader in Earth Observation technologies which have an increasing number of down to Earth applications, including through the UK Space Agency’s International Partnership Programme (IPP). This programme harnesses the expertise of the British space sector to tackle problems all around the world, from predicting dengue fever outbreaks in Vietnam to improving healthcare in Nigeria through satellite connectivity.

There is also a significant commercial opportunity, with Earth Observation satellite services estimated to support industries representing a total turnover of more than £235 billion.

Since 1981, SSTL has built and launched more than 50 satellites for 20 international customers including in Europe, USA and Canada – as well as providing training and development programmes, consultancy services, and mission studies for ESA, NASA, international governments and commercial customers.

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox recently launched the Department for International Trade’s first space exports campaigns to target opportunities initially in the US and India.

The ‘Space Exports’ campaign will see 2 of the world’s fastest growing markets targeted with trade missions. In India the Department for International Trade (DIT) will also increase its operation by recruiting British space sector experts to work in market.

Minister of State for the Department for International Trade, Baroness Fairhead, said:

SSTL is a fantastic example of how UK innovation and engineering can have a global impact. It is clear that our space industry is thriving, resulting in significant growth which reinforces the UK’s reputation as a leader in the sector. Overseas sales are vital to sustaining this growth, and our recently launched Export Strategy outlines the support available to companies to help them fulfil their exporting potential. I would encourage companies that are looking to follow in SSTL’s footsteps to make use of financial support from UK Export Finance and the extensive export opportunities that are listed on GREAT.gov.uk.

The UK Space Agency has invested £21 million in the development of NovaSAR-1 and will benefit from access to data from the spacecraft, significantly boosting the UK’s sovereign Earth observation capabilities and leveraging additional inward investment to the UK by creating highly skilled jobs in the UK space industry.

Dr Graham Turnock, Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, said:

This exciting new satellite, with its powerful imaging radar system and compact design, has been developed and built in the UK, and will provide a host of benefits for applications including the detection of oil spills, flood monitoring and agriculture. The Government wants the UK to thrive in the commercial space age as part of the modern Industrial Strategy. This mission demonstrates SSTL’s world leading skills and the exciting potential for further growth in our sector.

The satellite is due to launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India at 17:37 (BST).

NovaSAR-1 was designed and manufactured by SSTL, with an S-Band SAR payload developed by Airbus Defence and Space in Portsmouth and an Automatic Identification Receiver supplied by Honeywell Aerospace.</s>The first all-British radar satellite is set to go into orbit on an Indian rocket.

Called NovaSAR, it has the ability to take pictures of the surface of the Earth in every kind of weather, day or night.

The spacecraft will assume a number of roles but its designers specifically want to see if it can help monitor suspicious shipping activity.

Lift-off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota is at 17:37 BST.

NovaSAR will be joined on its rocket by a high-resolution optical satellite - that is, an imager that sees in ordinary light.

Known as S1-4, this spacecraft will discern objects on the ground as small as 87cm across. Both it and NovaSAR were manufactured by Surrey Satellite Technology Limited of Guildford.

UK engineers have long had expertise in space radar but their technology has previously always gone on broader missions, such as those for the European Space Agency. NovaSAR, which has the distinctive shape of a cheese-grater, is uniquely British, however.

Its radar instrument was developed for SSTL by Airbus in Portsmouth. The mission incorporates low-cost, miniaturised components and will aim to demonstrate a more affordable approach to radar imaging.

It will operate in a number of modes for applications that include the detection of oil spills, flood and forestry monitoring, disaster response, and crop assessment.

But perhaps its most interesting role will be in maritime observation.

The satellite is equipped with a receiver that can pick up Automatic Identification System (AIS) radio signals. These are the positional transmissions that large ships are obliged to broadcast under international law.

Vessels that tamper with or disable these messages very often are engaged in smuggling or illegal fishing activity. If such ships appear in NovaSAR's pictures, they will be reported to the authorities.

"We are very interested in this maritime mode, which is a 400km-plus swath mode," said Luis Gomes, the chief technology officer at SSTL.

"It is important to be able to monitor large areas of the ocean - something we don't do at the moment. We all saw with the Malaysian airline crash in the Indian Ocean the difficulty there was in monitoring that vast area. We can do that kind of thing with radar and NovaSAR is good for that," he told BBC News.

The NovaSAR project was initiated inside SSTL in 2008/9. Back then the idea of a radar satellite that measured 3m by 1m was regarded as something of a breakthrough because, up that point, such spacecraft had been big, power-hungry beasts that cost a lot of money.

It is a little unfortunate therefore that the programme got delayed because in the meantime others have also managed to package radar systems into small volumes. The Finnish start-up Iceye has a platform flying now that is the size of a suitcase. And an American company called Capella is promising a radar satellite that is not much bigger than a shoebox.

But radar expert Martin Cohen from Airbus is unperturbed by these developments.

"NovaSAR is still a step change, certainly for Airbus in terms of what you can do for a particular amount of money. But while we've been waiting for a launch, we haven't stood still," he said. "We've done lots of work on the next generation.

"NovaSAR is just the first in a family of instruments that will offer different capabilities, such as finer resolutions and other parameters; and we will be putting those capabilities on smaller spacecraft than NovaSAR."

The satellite, as presently configured, will operate in the S-band (3.2 gigahertz), giving a best resolution of 6m with a swath width of 15-20km. Future variants will go to the higher-frequency X-band and sense features on the ground as small as a metre across, and less.

The Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) aims to put NovaSAR and S1-4 into an orbit that is 580km above the Earth.

SI-4 will be taking pictures of China for Twenty First Century Aerospace Technology (21AT). This company, based in Beijing, will use the data in the Asian nation to help with urban planning, working out crop yields, pollution monitoring and doing biodiversity assessments, among many other applications.

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos</s>Image copyright SSTL/AIRBUS/ISRO Image caption S1-4 and NovaSAR pictured just before being enclosed at the top of their Indian rocket

The first all-British radar satellite has launched to orbit on an Indian rocket.

Called NovaSAR, it has the ability to take pictures of the surface of the Earth in every kind of weather, day or night.

The spacecraft will assume a number of roles but its designers specifically want to see if it can help monitor suspicious shipping activity.

Lift-off from the Satish Dhawan spaceport occurred at 17:38 BST.

NovaSAR was joined on its rocket by a high-resolution optical satellite - that is, an imager that sees in ordinary light.

Known as S1-4, this spacecraft will discern objects on the ground as small as 87cm across. Both it and NovaSAR were manufactured by Surrey Satellite Technology Limited of Guildford.

Image copyright AIRBUS DS Image caption NovaSAR has something of the look of a cheese-grater

UK engineers have long had expertise in space radar but their technology has previously always gone on broader missions, such as those for the European Space Agency. NovaSAR, which has the distinctive shape of a cheesegrater, is uniquely British, however.

Its radar instrument was developed for SSTL by Airbus in Portsmouth. The mission incorporates low-cost, miniaturised components and will aim to demonstrate a more affordable approach to radar imaging.

It will operate in a number of modes for applications that include the detection of oil spills, flood and forestry monitoring, disaster response, and crop assessment.

Image copyright AIRBUS DS/SSTL Image caption Portsmouth viewed by the NovaSAR radar instrument when it was flown on an aeroplane

But perhaps its most interesting role will be in maritime observation.

The satellite is equipped with a receiver that can pick up Automatic Identification System (AIS) radio signals. These are the positional transmissions that large ships are obliged to broadcast under international law.

Vessels that tamper with or disable these messages very often are engaged in smuggling or illegal fishing activity. If such ships appear in NovaSAR's pictures, they will be reported to the authorities.

"We are very interested in this maritime mode, which is a 400km-plus swath mode," said Luis Gomes, the chief technology officer at SSTL.

"It is important to be able to monitor large areas of the ocean - something we don't do at the moment. We all saw with the Malaysian airline crash in the Indian Ocean the difficulty there was in monitoring that vast area. We can do that kind of thing with radar and NovaSAR is good for that," he told BBC News.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Luis Gomes: "Nobody currently is monitoring vast areas of ocean"

The NovaSAR project was initiated inside SSTL in 2008/9. Back then the idea of a radar satellite that measured 3m by 1m was regarded as something of a breakthrough because, up that point, such spacecraft had been big, power-hungry beasts that cost a lot of money.

It is a little unfortunate therefore that the programme got delayed because in the meantime others have also managed to package radar systems into small volumes. The Finnish start-up Iceye has a platform flying now that is the size of a suitcase. And an American company called Capella is promising a radar satellite that is not much bigger than a shoebox.

But radar expert Martin Cohen from Airbus is unperturbed by these developments.

"NovaSAR is still a step change, certainly for Airbus in terms of what you can do for a particular amount of money. But while we've been waiting for a launch, we haven't stood still," he said. "We've done lots of work on the next generation.

"NovaSAR is just the first in a family of instruments that will offer different capabilities, such as finer resolutions and other parameters; and we will be putting those capabilities on smaller spacecraft than NovaSAR."

Image copyright 21AT Image caption S1-4 is a copy of previous SSTL optical satellites, but it will see finer detail on the ground

The satellite, as presently configured, will operate in the S-band (3.2 gigahertz), giving a best resolution of 6m with a swath width of 15-20km. Future variants will go to the higher-frequency X-band and sense features on the ground as small as a metre across, and less.

The Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) was programmed to put NovaSAR and S1-4 into an orbit that is 580km above the Earth.

S1-4 will be taking pictures of China for Twenty First Century Aerospace Technology (21AT). This company, based in Beijing, will use the data in the Asian nation to help with urban planning, working out crop yields, pollution monitoring and doing biodiversity assessments, among many other applications.

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos</s>The first all-British radar satellite has launched to orbit on an Indian rocket from Satish Dhawan spaceport. Called NovaSAR, it has the ability to take pictures of the surface of the Earth in every kind of weather, day or night. The spacecraft will assume a number of roles but its designers specifically want to see if it can help monitor suspicious shipping activity.

NovaSAR was joined on its rocket by a high-resolution optical satellite - that is, an imager that sees in ordinary light. Known as S1-4, this spacecraft will discern objects on the ground as small as 87cm across. Both it and NovaSAR were manufactured by Surrey Satellite Technology Limited of Guildford.

UK engineers have long had expertise in space radar but their technology has previously always gone on broader missions, such as those for the European Space Agency. NovaSAR, which has the distinctive shape of a cheese-grater, is uniquely British, however.

Its radar instrument was developed for SSTL by Airbus in Portsmouth. The mission incorporates low-cost, miniaturized components and will aim to demonstrate a more affordable approach to radar imaging. It will operate in a number of modes for applications that include the detection of oil spills, flood and forestry monitoring, disaster response, and crop assessment.

But perhaps its most interesting role will be in maritime observation. The satellite is equipped with a receiver that can pick up Automatic Identification System (AIS) radio signals. These are the positional transmissions that large ships are obliged to broadcast under international law.

Vessels that tamper with or disable these messages very often are engaged in smuggling or illegal fishing activity. If such ships appear in NovaSAR's pictures, they will be reported to the authorities.

We are very interested in this maritime mode, which is a 400km-plus swath mode, said Luis Gomes, the chief technology officer at SSTL.

It is important to be able to monitor large areas of the ocean - something we don't do at the moment. We all saw with the Malaysian airline crash in the Indian Ocean the difficulty there was in monitoring that vast area. We can do that kind of thing with radar and NovaSAR is good for that he told BBC News.

The NovaSAR project was initiated inside SSTL in 2008/9. Back then the idea of a radar satellite that measured 3m by 1m was regarded as something of a breakthrough because, up that point, such spacecraft had been big, power-hungry beasts that cost a lot of money.

It is a little unfortunate therefore that the program got delayed because in the meantime others have also managed to package radar systems into small volumes. The Finnish start-up Iceye has a platform flying now that is the size of a suitcase. And a US company called Capella is promising a radar satellite that is not much bigger than a shoebox.

The satellite, as presently configured, will operate in the S-band (3.2 gigahertz), giving a best resolution of 6m with a swath width of 15-20km. Future variants will go to the higher-frequency X-band and sense features on the ground as small as a meter across, and less.

The Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) was programmed to put NovaSAR and S1-4 into an orbit that is 580km above the Earth.</s>The NovaSAR-1 and SSTL S1-4 were built by the Guildford-based Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd and sent into orbit on Sunday (September 16)

Two Guildford-built satellites were sent hurtling into the vacuum of space on Sunday (September 16) from a launch pad in India.

The NovaSAR-1 radar satellite and the SSTL S1-4 observation satellite, both built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, were sent into orbit 580km above the Earth at 5.38pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

NovaSAR-1, which benefited from £21 million of funding from the UK Space Agency, is the first radar satellite built entirely in the UK while SSTL S1-4 will provide high resolution images to help with urban planning, agricultural monitoring, natural resource management and disaster monitoring.

Sir Martin Sweeting, executive chairman of SSTL, said: "I am pleased to confirm that successful contact has been made with both satellites and they are in good health."</s>The first ever all-British radar satellite has been launched into orbit, where it will be used to monitor the world's oceans for any criminal activity.

NovaSar, designed and manufactured by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), based in Guildford, Surrey, was launched into space aboard a rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India at 17:38pm BST (12:38 ET) yesterday.

The radar satellite will take photographs of the oceans around the clock and is even capable of penetrating dense cloud cover to capture images.

This ability makes it ideal for spotting illegal logging in high cloud-covered forests, such as the Amazon.

It will also be used to monitor oil spills and floods, as well as tracking suspicious shipping activity around the world.

UK Science Minister Sam Gyimah said the data from this project will help innovate start-ups, develop apps and 'revolutionise the way we live'.

NovaSar was backed by a £21 million ($27.5 million) government investment and can take images during the day and night.

Dr Graham Turnock, the UK Space Agency's chief executive, said: 'This exciting new satellite, with its powerful imaging radar system and compact design, has been developed and built in the UK, and will provide a host of benefits for applications including the detection of oil spills, flood monitoring and agriculture.'

The satellite will find any suspicious or criminal activity by using a sensor that can pick up Automatic Identification System (AIS) radio signals.

These are the specific transmissions that large ships have to produce under international law.

Any vessels found tampering with or disabling these broadcasts are likely to be involved in nefarious activities.

If any of these incognito vessels are spotted by NovaSar then they will be reported to the relevant authorities.

'We are very interested in this maritime mode, which is a 400km-plus swath mode,' said Luis Gomes, the chief technology officer at SSTL.

'It is important to be able to monitor large areas of the ocean - something we don't do at the moment. We all saw with the Malaysian airline crash in the Indian Ocean the difficulty there was in monitoring that vast area. We can do that kind of thing with radar and NovaSar is good for that,' he told BBC News.

The satellite was designed by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) in Guildford, which was also launching a second satellite.

NovaSar's sister satellite is known as S1-4 and is a high-resolution optical satellite.

It is fitted with immensely powerful visual equipment which will allow it to take pictures in high resolution in ordinary light.

The cameras on-board the orbiting device will be capable of discerning objects on Earth's surface as small as 34 inches (87 cm) across.</s>The first all-British radar satellite has been launched towards an orbit where it will be tasked with monitoring the oceans.

The NovaSar satellite, designed and manufactured by a Surrey-based firm, lifted off on a rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India at 5.38pm UK-time on Sunday.

Backed by a £21 million Government investment, the satellite can take images night or day, even through the cover of heavy clouds.

The latter ability makes them ideal for spotting illegal logging in high cloud-covered forests, such as the Amazon.

Its functions will also include monitoring for oil spills and floods, as well as tracking suspicious shipping activity such as smuggling.

NovaSar was designed by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) in Guildford, which was also launching a second satellite.

Dr Graham Turnock, the UK Space Agency’s chief executive, said: “This exciting new satellite, with its powerful imaging radar system and compact design, has been developed and built in the UK, and will provide a host of benefits for applications including the detection of oil spills, flood monitoring and agriculture.”

Science Minister Sam Gyimah said the data from this project will help innovate start-ups, develop apps and “revolutionise the way we live”.</s>The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch PSLV C-42 into orbit carrying two British satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Sunday.

The PSLV-C42 will be launched on Sunday (September 16) night. It will carry two earth observation satellites of Britain’s Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), NovaSAR and S1-4, weighing 450kg each.

The two earth observation satellites-Nova SAR and S1-4 have been developed by Surrey Satellite Technologies Limited (SSTL), United Kingdom under commercial arrangement with Antrix Corporation Limited, Department of Space.

Both the British satellites that weigh around 889 kgs, will be launched into a 583 km Sun Synchronous Orbit.

NovaSAR is a S-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite intended for forest mapping, land use & ice cover monitoring, flood & disaster monitoring. S1-4 is a high resolution Optical Earth Observation Satellite, used for surveying resources, environment monitoring, urban management and for the disaster monitoring.
The first of a series of British satellites, known as NovaSAR, is launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in India. The Surrey Satellite Technology satellite is designed to monitor suspicious shipping activity.