Science

India Earth Observation Satellite Timeline: IRS to EOS-05

EOS-05, launched by GSLV-F17 on 4 September 2026, is ISRO's first imaging satellite placed into geosynchronous orbit. It joins a programme that began with IRS-…

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IRS-1A LAUNCH

IRS-1A begins India's Earth-observation programme

IRS-1A launched on 17 March 1988 aboard a Soviet Vostok rocket, carrying optical sensors for land-resource mapping — the start of India's operational remote-sensing prog…

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IRS EXPANSION

The IRS constellation grows

IRS-1B, IRS-P2, IRS-1C, IRS-P3 and IRS-1D followed through the 1990s, adding resolution and coverage while India's own PSLV proved itself as a reliable launch vehicle.

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OCEANSAT-1

India looks at the ocean

Oceansat-1 (IRS-P4) launched 26 May 1999 with an Ocean Colour Monitor and scatterometer, opening a dedicated ocean-observation line for fisheries and marine weather.

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RESOURCESAT-1

A dedicated satellite for farms and water

Resourcesat-1 launched 17 October 2003 with multispectral sensors (LISS-III/IV, AWiFS) built for agriculture, land-use and water-resource monitoring at multiple resoluti…

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CARTOSAT-1

India starts mapping in 3D

Cartosat-1 launched 5 May 2005 with twin stereo panchromatic cameras, letting ISRO generate elevation models and precision terrain maps for the first time.

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RISAT RADAR

Radar arrives: seeing through clouds

RISAT-2 (2009) and RISAT-1 (2012) brought Synthetic Aperture Radar to India's fleet — critical during monsoon cloud cover, when optical satellites are blind.

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FULL EXPANSION

Every observation type gets coverage

Oceansat-2, Resourcesat-2, Cartosat-2 series, Scatsat-1 and Cartosat-3 (2019) filled out continuous, overlapping coverage across optical, multispectral, ocean and radar…

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EOS ERA / EOS-03 FAILS

New naming era begins — and a launch is lost

EOS-01 (2020) opened ISRO's new EOS naming series. EOS-03 (12 Aug 2021) aimed to be India's first geosynchronous imaging satellite but was lost after a cryogenic-stage a…

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SETBACKS & NISAR

EOS-04, EOS-06, a failure, and an international first

EOS-04 and EOS-06 (2022) extended radar and ocean coverage. EOS-09 (2025) failed after a third-stage issue, but NISAR — a joint NASA-ISRO radar satellite — launched succ…

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EOS-05 LAUNCHES

India's first successful geosynchronous imaging satellite

GSLV-F17 launched EOS-05 on 4 September 2026, placing it into a Sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. ISRO calls it India's first-ever imaging satellite from geosynchronous…

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