The Indian Contribution to the CEOS-VC

Abstract

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has started contributing towards international tandem space-borne scatterometer missions by successfully launching a Ku-band pencil-beam scatterometer onboard Oceansat-2 in September 2009. The Oceansat-2 scatterometer (OSCAT) continued to provide good quality observations of ocean surface vector winds till February 2014, when a major power failure ceased the mission. In September 2016, ISRO launched another Ku-band scatterometer as a sole payload onboard Scatsat-1. The Scatsat-1 followed the design heritage of OSCAT with some improved configuration. After the initial CAL/VAL phase, the Scatsat-1was to found to provide excellent quality of wind products. The present status of Scatsat-1 is operational. The operational data products from Scatsat-1 as well as archived products from OSCAT are available from both National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC, www.nrsc.gov.in) and Meteorological and Oceanographic Satellite Data Archival Centre (MOSDAC, www.mosdac.gov.in). Apart from the operational products from these scatterometers, there are several other value added products are routinely generated and disseminated from MOSDAC. Table-1 shows the brief descriptions of the operational and value added products available from Scatsat-1.