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Megha-Tropiques


Megha means cloud in Sanskrit and Tropiques means tropics in French.

General


Designation 37838 / 11058A
Launch date 12 Oct 2011
Country of origin India
Mission Remote sensing
Perigee/Apogee 867 km
Inclination 20°
Period 102 min
Launch vehicle PSLV #20

Joint program of CNES and ISRO for atmonspheric research. Satellite should cost $56 million and the launch $67 million

The Megha-Tropiques satellite will be capable of imaging any point in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) up to 6 times a day.

End of life


Decay 7 Mar 2023


External resources


http://meghatropiques.ipsl.polytechnique.fr/

sat-index articles


n2yo.com tracking


Technical data



Specifications


Prime contractor ISRO
Platform similar to IRS spacecraft?
Mass at launch 1000 kg
Mass in orbit  
Dimension  
Solar array  
Stabilization  
DC power  
Design lifetime  

Will carry Earth and atmospheric observation instruments.2 instruments are French, 1 is Indian.

MADRAS: microwave imaging radiometer, to study precipitation and cloud properties. Developed jointly by CNES and ISRO
SAPHIR: microwave sounder, to measure distribution of atmospheric water vapour. Developed by CNES
SCARAB: radiometer, to measure irradiative fluxes at the top of the atmosphere. Developed by CNES

Radio Occultation Sounder for the Atmosphere (ROSA): built by TAS, made of a GPS receiver and 2 dual-frequency antennas. The instrument conducts its atmospheric sounding by monitoring navigation signals from the satellites of the GPS constellation while - as seen from the observing satellite - they set through the atmospheric limb on the Earth's horizon or raise from it. This enables to sound the troposphere and determine the temperature, pressure and humidity of the atmosphere.


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