Engineering:INSAT 2B

Short description: Indian telecommunications satellite

INSAT-2B

Mission type	Telecommunication and meteorological observation
Operator	INSAT
Mission duration	11 years
Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer	ISRO
Launch mass	1,906 kilograms (4,202 lb)
Dry mass	916 kg
Power	1000 watts
Start of mission
Launch date	23 July, 1993
Rocket	Ariane-4
Launch site	Kourou, French Guiana
Contractor	Arianespace
End of mission
Deactivated	1 July, 2004
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Geostationary
Longitude	93.5 degree east

INSAT-2B (The Indian National Satellite system) was the second satellite in the INSAT 2 Series that was successfully launched for telecommunication and meteorological observation. This India satellite was launched on 23 July 1993 from Kourou, French Guiana and Ariane-4 being its launch vehicle. INSAT-2B is placed in the geostationary orbit at a longitude of 93.5 degree East. The satellites also carries a search and rescue(SAR) transponder, a data relay transponder and also high resolution radiometer. This radiometer has a resolution of 2 km (1.2 mi) in the normal visible band and of 8 km (5.0 mi) in the thermal infra red band.

The lift off mass of the satellite was around 1,906 kg (4,202 lb) and dry mass of 916 kg with a spacecraft power of 1000 W. The Satellite had an operational lifespan of 11 years. The satellite completed its mission on 1 July 2004 and is out of service since then.

The major components of the satellite includes a VHRR (Very High-resolution Radiometer), DCS (Data Collection system) and SASAR (Satellite Aided and Rescue) system. This VHRR was completely designed & built at ISRO. The VHRR is capable of working in three modes namely full scan, normal scan and sector scan mode. The DCS provides environmental information using data relay transponder from Data collection platforms. SASAR gives us emergency alerts, if any, for the Indian subcontinent.