SARAL

The Satellite with ARGOS and ALTIKA (SARAL) is a joint Indo-French satellite mission for Oceanographic Studies launched on Feb. 25 , 2013 . SARAL will perform altimetric measurements designed to study ocean circulation and sea surface elevation. The payloads of SARAL are: 

Ka band Altimeter, ALTIKA- built by the French National Space Agency CNES. The payload is intended for oceanographic applications, operates at 35.75 Giga Hertz.

ARGOS Data Collection System- built by the French National Space Agency CNES. ARGOS contributes to the development and operational implementation of the global ARGOS Data Collection System. It will collect a variety of data from ocean buoys to transmit the same to the ARGOS Ground Segment for subsequent processing and distribution. 

Solid State C-band Transponder (SCBT) is from ISRO and intended for ground RADAR calibration. It is a continuation of such suppport provided by C-Band Transponders flown in the earlier IRS-P3 and IRS-P5 missions. 

The payloads of SARAL are accommodated in the Indian Mini Satellite-2 bus, which is built by ISRO.

SARAL Appilcations

SARAL data products will be useful for operational as well as research user communities in many fields like 

• Marine meteorology and sea state forecasting
• Operational oceanography
• Seasonal forecasting
• Climate monitoring
• Ocean, earth system and climate research
• Continental ice studies
• Protection of biodiversity
• Managment and protection of marine ecosystem
• Environmental monitoring
• Improvement of maritime security