ISRO to launch earth imaging satellite from Sriharikota on May 18, MPs to witness the event

An Earth Observation Satellite (EOS) lifts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andra Pradesh. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

India will launch an earth observation satellite on Sunday (May 18, 2025) from the spaceport at Sriharikota, boosting its surveillance capabilities from space in all weather conditions.

A delegation of lawmakers, who are part of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, is scheduled to witness the launch of the EOS-09 satellite onboard the ISRO’s warhorse rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) at 5:59 a.m. on May 18, officials said.

Equipped with a C-band synthetic aperture radar, EOS-09 will be capable of capturing high-resolution images of the Earth’s surface under all weather conditions, day or night.

This all-weather, round-the-clock imaging is vital for applications, ranging from agriculture and forestry monitoring to disaster management, urban planning, and national security.

The EOS-09 satellite, weighing around 1,710 kg, will join India’s growing constellation of Earth observation assets, addressing the need for expanded real-time coverage across the country’s vast territory.

More than two dozen members of Parliament are expected to witness the launch event at the invitation of the Department of Space. After that, in the evening, they will proceed towards Tirupati and visit an important science and technology institute.

EOS-09 (RISAT-1B) is a follow-on to the RISAT-1 satellite with similar configuration. It complements and supplements data from the Resourcesat, Cartosat and RISAT-2B Series satellites.