ISRO's RISAT-2 satellite bows out after 13 years of service; makes atmospheric re-entry

The Indian space agency said that its RISAT-2 satellite made uncontrolled atmospheric re-entry earlier this week, after performing its tasks in space for nearly 13 years.

ISRO's RISAT-2 satellite bows out after 13 years of service; makes atmospheric re-entry

The re-entry occurred at the predicted impact point in the Indian Ocean near Jakarta on October 30, 2022, 00:06 UTC with an uncertainty of ±10 minutes, ISRO said in a statement. RISAT-2 is a radar imaging satellite with multiple applications and was placed in an orbit where it was 400km above earth at its closest approach and 550km above the earth at its farthest approach.

According to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), RISAT-2 Satellite carried 30kg fuel for an initial design life of 4 years. However, with proper maintenance of orbit, mission planning by the spacecraft operations team in ISRO and economical usage of fuel, RISAT-2 provided very useful payload data for 13 years.

The agency added that RISAT-2 had no fuel left on re-entry and that contaminations or explosion by fuel were not expected. Based on studies, it was also said that pieces generated due to aero-thermal fragmentation (as a result of the high temperatures, friction and speed of re-entry), would not have impacted on Earth.

ISRO added that RISAT-2 is a clear example of ISRO’s capability to carry out spacecraft orbital operations in an efficient and optimal way. As RISAT-2 re-entered within 13.5 years, it complied with all necessary international mitigation guidelines for Space Debris, showing ISRO’s commitment towards long term sustainability of Outer Space as well, said the agency.