India’s first ‘Eye in the Sky’ returns to Earth after completing its sentinel job for over a decade.
India's first dedicated "spy" or reconnaissance satellite, Risat-2, was launched by Isro shortly after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks to protect its borders and seas. The country used its images to launch two "surgical strikes" on Pakistan. On October 30, Risat-2 re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and splashed in the Indian Ocean near Jakarta.
It played a key role in several anti-infiltration and anti-terrorist operations for 13.5 years and performed its duty much beyond its expected life span. The surgical strike on terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in 2016 and the aerial strike on Balakot in February 2019 were both planned with the aid of satellite images by security and intelligence services.
Due to the delay in the locally built C-band for the Risat-1 satellite, the launch of Risat-2 was hastened after the 26/11 terrorist attacks in 2008. Risat-2 was released in 2009, three years prior to the debut of Risat-1 in 2012. Additionally, it was employed to monitor hostile ships that were considered a security danger in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.
Rescue operations also made use of the satellite. It was used to find the helicopter accident debris that killed the former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, on September 2, 2009. ISRO stated that On October 30, Risat-2 made an uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere at the predicted impact point in the Indian Ocean near Jakarta.
