Spy satellite faces even longer delay

US pressure sets back launch possibility by at least another 6 months

NEW DELHI: Officials in Indian intelligence, defence and the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) are deeply dismayed at the government’s last-minute decision to put off the launch of India’s first spy satellite in October-November.

The Indo-Israeli satellite, with synthetic aperture radar (called TechSAR), would have boosted India’s intelligence-gathering abilities with its ability to shoot sharp images of even objects less than a metre in dimension.

Reacting to Monday’s report in DNA on the abandonment of the launch, Isro chairman G Madhavan Nair told news agency PTI that the launch was not cancelled under American pressure.

“We are facing some technical difficulties. Once we overcome these, the launch will be scheduled,” Nair said.

However, intelligence officials say the launch has been “dismantled” completely. This means the satellite cannot be fired into orbit in the immediate future even if the government reconsiders its decision.

A senior official involved in scientific-technical matters told DNA: “Even if we start working again on the project from tomorrow, which is not going to happen, it will not take less than six months to assemble it again for the launch.”   

Intelligence circles are concerned about the lack of satellite intelligence in the context of disturbances in areas bordering Pakistan, and Chinese civilian work near the Arunachal Pradesh border.

With winter setting in, the intelligence and security establishment has to keep a close watch over any buildup on the other side of the border using aerial reconnaissance rather than any other means.

The spy satellite could have provided invaluable data in terms of “space-based surveillance” with sharp images.

The TechSAR satellite would have provided India with its first access to cutting-edge, all-weather aerial surveillance.

Under the arrangement, Israel was to pay Isro a fee for launching its TechSAR, but the images shot by it were to be made available to India.

The launch was abandoned literally on the launch pad, after it was mounted on a PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle), under American pressure.

If TechSAR had been available during Kargil, a major crisis could have been averted. “During Kargil operations, we had to approach some European firms to buy aerial pictures of the area.

In the first place, it was the absence of sub-metre, all-weather imagery that resulted in intruders sneaking into Kargil. If we have access to TechSAR imagery, a lot of our trouble would be resolved,” one intelligence source said.

Another official said the images available from the existing Indian Remote Sensing satellites and those taken from spy planes were not good enough.

“Clouds and dust storms have been hampering a lot of our aerial imagery efforts. Besides, none of them can provide sub-metre sharp pictures.

We have been looking forward to inputs from synthetic aperture radars, which we were told would be available soon,” another source said.