India is set to launch a new generation satellite that will help map the entire country in six months and give cartographic applications a new dimension.
The spacecraft built by scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation will be equipped with two advanced panchromatic cameras, with a spatial resolution of 2.5 metres and a swath of 30 km each.
ISRO Chairman Dr G Madhavan Nair told PTI that Cartosat-1 is the first of its kind in the world, and the high-resolution camera systems will take stereoscopic pictures for mapping applications and take them in different angles.
In other terms, it means the satellite can spot and take pictures of any object that is 2.5 metres in size on the earth's surface. "The images taken by the satellite would be precise, more explicit and accurate," an ISRO scientist said.
"We are targeting Cartosat-1's launch by the end of this month or early May," Nair said.
ISRO officials discounted suggestions that Cartosat-1 data products would be of significant use for military intelligence.
"Its for civilian use," Nair emphasised.