APRIL 2009

people
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NATIONAL REMOTE SENSING CENTRE NEWSLETTER

Indian Space Research Organisation

inform inspire educate engage innovate Volume 1 Issue 2

from the director’s desk index

I am happy to see that the second issue of P2P
Newsletter is now ready to reach its readers.
2 User Interaction Workshop
3 Oceansat-2
NRSC User Interaction Workshop conducted
during Jan 28-29, 2009 after a gap of few years 4 Lunar Orientale Basin
brought together a vast remote sensing user
community from across the country, besides 5 Urban Spatial Growth Modeling
attracting many foreign participants, on a
common platform to share the experiences
6 Large Format Aerial Digital Metric Camera
with the Indian Remote Sensing programme 8 IRS - Payload Programming System
and to deliberate the modalities of applying newer sensors for their
current and future applications. The workshop also gave an 9 CartoDEM
opportunity for us to share our happy moments with our beloved
Chairman, ISRO, Shri G Madhavan Nair, who was just then conferred 10 Digital Servo Control System
with the second highest civilian award of Padma Vibhushan by the
Government of India.
11 National Land Use and Land Cover

NRSC aerial services have been further strengthened by the

acquisition of a Large Format Digital Camera (LFDC) providing very
high spatial resolution and geometric quality with wide angle coverage.
This should provide a paradigm shift in the NRSC aerial
photogrammetry services, opening new vistas in aerial remote sensing
with high resolution multi-spectral images. To improve the overall
efficiency of map production and associated services to the user
community, a wet leasing arrangement with industry has been
operationalised at NRSC and it is hoped that this arrangement will
enable NRSC to realize the projects in a time-bound manner. Further,
with the proposed acquisition of a jet aircraft specifically meant for
disaster management applications and the above mentioned recent
initiations, NRSC aerial services are well poised for newer take-offs in
the coming years.

The Integrated Multi-mission Ground Segment for Earth Observation

Satellites (IMGEOS) Project got the formal approval by early April 2009, Dr. G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO addressing the delegates
th
and efforts are on to ensure its operational availability within next 2 of NRSC User Interaction Workshop on 28 Jan 2009
years. The Interim facility for IMGEOS is already ready at Shadnagar
well ahead of time emphasizing the importance of expediting IMGEOS.
It was once again amply stressed well when our beloved Chairman,
ISRO, Shri Madhavan Nair laid the foundation stone for the
development of the Master plan at NRSC Earth Station, Shadnagar on
May 11, 2009.

NRSC Distinguished lecture Series has been initiated as a forum for the
employees of NRSC to interact with luminaries and eminent personnel
and outstanding leaders who have and are shaping the future of our
country from myriad fields and diverse walks of life. A Special lecture
delivered by Wg Cdr Rakesh Sharma on 'Space and Environment' on
February 26, 2009 was the first edition of the NRSC Distinguished
lecture Series, commemorating the 25th anniversary of his historic
maiden space flight made by him in April 1984. This issue of P2P tries
to capture some glimpses of above-said activities. I am sure, it will
trigger the imagination of readers and the response from them will
www.nrsc.gov.in

further invigorate NRSC to scale newer heights in its endeavour to Wg Cdr (Retd.) Rakesh Sharma, AC being felicitated
continuously improve its products and services. by Director, NRSC commemorating the 25 years of
the first space flight by an Indian
- Dr. V. Jayaraman, Director, NRSC

User Interaction Workshop
National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) organized
the User Interaction Workshop at Hyderabad campus
during 28-29 January, 2009. The event was graced
by Chairman, ISRO and Secretary, DOS,
Padmavibhushan Dr. G. Madhavan Nair,
Dr. R. R. Navalgund, Director, Space Applications
Centre, IRS Project and Mission Directors and other
senior dignitaries/functionaries of ISRO to appraise
the user community about the latest developments/
technological advancements in the Indian space
programme. Over 250 users from various user
segments participated in the workshop.
Dr. G. Madhavan Nair in his inaugural address
declared that academic users will be provided with
free satellite data for research. He also released the
first issue of NRSC news letter 'Pixel to People' (P2P)
and launched three web-based services from NRSC -
'Bhoosampada', 'Decision Support Centre' and 'On-
line User Order Processing System'. The event was
followed by the inauguration of the eye-catching
exhibition showcasing capabilities of various sensors
onboard Indian Remote Sensing satellites.
The proceedings of the workshop included five
technical sessions, four parallel sector-wise
interactions and vendor presentations. During the
technical sessions, a wide range of topics were
covered which include number of case studies on
utilization of high-resolution data for natural resources
and urban infrastructure development with emphasis
on Cartosat-1 data, NNRMS initiatives for disasters
and Village Resource Centre applications, status of
satellite and aerial data products and training
programmes for capacity building. The users were
also apprised of the details of the forthcoming
Oceansat-2 and RISAT-1 missions. A separate
session was arranged, in coordination with ANTRIX,
for the resellers and ground station operators.
Thirteen resellers and ground station coordinators
Exhibition of geospatial data products
as part of user interaction workshop
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attended the meet. During the vendor session,
representatives of GeoEye, Digital Globe, Satcom
and Sacon made presentations of their products and
services. The technical sessions were followed by a
plenary session, during which a number of issues
were discussed and recommendations were made
for improved services.
Users enquiries include availability of full India
CartoDEM, merged products using Cartosat-1 and 2
data with LISS-4 MX and natural colour composite
products as regular products. Users were informed
that over sixty percent of full India CartoDEM is ready
and efforts are on for the supply of all special products
as regular products.
Participants of IRS Global User Meet
Users expressed concern about the delays in
obtaining clearance for supply of high resolution data.
The users were apprised of the existing policy and the
procedures involved and the efforts being made to
obtain clearance within two weeks. The users were
happy to learn that data up to 2.5 m resolution will be
made available to users without masking and certain
data with coarser resolution, will be made available as
free download as per the proposed policy.
The introduction of the on-line user processing
system was welcomed by the users and they
suggested that adequate help may be provided to
enable them to use the facility effectively. Along with
on-line ordering, users requested NRSC to enable on-
line payment, including credit card payments. Users
expressed concern over the internet speed and
availability of the browse, downlink and payload
programming services. Users were assured of better
services by making appropriate technological
changes.
On 30th January, a visit to the NRSC ground station at
Shadnagar was arranged for the resellers and other
Indian participants giving them an opportunity to see
www.nrsc.gov.in
real time satellite data acquisition processes and
demonstration of facilities at the ground station.
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2. Ku-Band Pencil Beam Scatterometer

The Ku band pencil beam Scatterometer is an active
Oceansat-2 microwave sensor and operates at 13.515 GHz
providing a ground resolution cell of size 50 km x 50 km.
The Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) programme, keeping
in view the immense benefits of space based remote
sensing in the areas of natural resources survey,
inventory and management, has embarked upon the
development of this technology in a major way through
the use of orbiting satellites. While most of these
missions were designed and deployed to cater to land
based applications such as agriculture, hydrology,
geology, forestry, urban planning, etc., the IRS-P4
(Oceansat-1) launched in May 1999, was the first
dedicated mission for ocean applications and
meteorology. Two payloads, namely, Ocean Colour
Monitor (OCM) and Multi-frequency Scanning
Microwave Radiometer (MSMR) were flown on board
IRS-P4. The OCM data is being used in 'true' operational
sense for identification of Potential Fishing Zones (PFZ) in
the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal on daily basis.
3. Radio Occultation Sounding Unit for Atmospheric
The Oceansat-2 mission is envisaged as the continuity Studies (ROSA)
service provider to IRS-P4 data users. Oceansat-2 has 3 ROSA payload in Oceansat-2 consists of a radio
payloads, namely, OCM, Ku-band Scatterometer and occultation (RO) antenna looking along the satellite
ROSA (developed by the Italian Space Agency, ASI). velocity vector, a navigation antenna looking along the
Oceansat-2 will be launched in mid 2009 into a near zenith and a common receiver package. The
polar sun-synchronous orbit of 720 km altitude. The specifications of ROSA payload are given below.
local time of pass is 12 noon + 10 minutes.
Specifications of ROSA payload
Payload Specifications

1. Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM)

The OCM is an 8-band multi spectral camera operating
in the Visible-Near IR Spectral range. This camera
provides an Instantaneous Geometric Field of View
(IGFOV) of 360 m covering a swath width of 1420 km.
This wide swath enables the OCM to provide a
repetitivity of 2 days for any given area. The configuration
of OCM payload is identical to the one flown in IRS-P4
except that two spectral bands (B6, B7) are modified
based on the experience from IRS-P4. For Band-6, the Major Applications of Oceansat-2
central wavelength is shifted from 670 nm to 620 nm to
improve the reflectance from suspended sediments and OCM data find application in the fields of biological
for Band-7, the central wavelength is shifted from 760 (assessment of marine resources, primary production
nm to 740 nm to avoid Oxygen absorption bands. estimates, potential fishing zones and algal blooms in
coastal areas), geological (fluvial fluxes in coastal and
marine environment) oceanography and bio-geological
chemical cycles and transport of aerosols in the
Specifications of the OCM payload
atmospheric boundary layer. Global Scatterometer
IGFOV (m) 360 (across track) measurements have a wide range of applications in
236 (along track) meteorology (monsoon onset, tropical cyclones,
Swath (km) 1420
improved medium range weather forecasting); physical
Spectral Bands (micron)
Band Range Band Range oceanography (monitoring and predication of ocean
B1 0.402-0.422 B2 0.433-0.453 state parameters); land applications (large scale soil
B3 0.480-0.500 B4 0.500-0.520 moisture estimation), vegetation classifications and
B5 0.545-0.565 B6 0.610-0.630 growth assessment) and studies related to polar
B7 0.725-0.755 B8 0.845-0.885 characterization. ROSA data will be useful for
Quantization (bits) 12
meteorology/climatology (temperature and humidity
SNR (At maximum signal of > 512
profiles); space weather (electron density profiles in the
www.nrsc.gov.in

selected gain)
Data rate (Mbps) 20.8 ionosphere and solid earth physics.

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Lunar Orientale Basin
Topology and Morphology from Chandrayaan-1
Chandrayaan-1, India's first planetary mission was
launched successfully on October 22, 2008 and
reached its final lunar orbit of 100 km altitude on
November 14, 2008. All eleven instruments were
switched on as part of early phase of mission operations.
There are two optical payloads from ISRO, namely,
Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC) with a triplet
panchromatic sensor for topographic mapping and
Hyperspectral Imager (HySi) meant for mineralogical
mapping in the visible and near infrared spectral range
with 64 contiguous bands of 15 nm bandwidth.
Initial findings of these camera images over the Orientale
basin in the south west of lunar surface are reported
here. Situated on the extreme western edge of the
nearside view, the Orientale basin assumes importance
by virtue of observational difficulties from earthbound
instruments and also was not part of the areas
investigated by the Apollo programme. Data for the
Orientale basin were acquired by TMC and HySi at 5
m/pixel and 80 m/pixel respectively, both with the field of
view of 20 km. The location of TMC/HySi coverage over
the Clementine mosaicked tiles is shown in Fig. 1(a). Fig.
1(b-d) shows the selected portion of the subset image
covering island and the Maunder Formation of Northern
Unit (MF-NU). Stereo pair analysis was carried out to
generate the digital elevation model (DEM) of the region
(Fig 1(d)). For quick interpretation of the HYSI image,
band ratio (BR) product was made with near similar
spectral bands of the Clementine UV/VIS image. The
prime base band for this product was obtained by
spectral binning of three bands each: B (463, 471 and
479 nm), G (767, 775 and 783 nm) and R (872, 880 and
(a) (b) (c) (d)
Fig. 1 (a) Extent of the TMC / HYSI data coverage across the Orientale Basin.
The base image is the Clementine 750 nm data; (b) TMC subscene showing
some regions of interest taken for present study. (c) color composite of
band ratioed three images from the HYSI and (d) The DEM gray map image
with color codes (red: Mare-1, cyan: Mare-2; green: island mountain;
blue: MF NU; yellow: VR and magenta: MF South Unit (MF SU))
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888 nm). The final band ratios (B/G), (G/R) and (G/B)
were computed to obtain false colour composite (FCC)
image. Figure 1(c) shows the BR image of the selected
region. Different spectral features present at the island
and the MF and the valley region (VR) in between them
can be visually observed.
Topological analysis: The 3D surface views of the relief
and HYSI BR image using the DEM are shown in Fig. 2.
Of the many interesting features, six distant regions
describing the topology of this area can be clearly seen.
A sample window of each region was selected and its
height information was analyzed. The six selected
windows of these regions are shown in Fig 1 (d).
Topological variation at five different locations with
respect to mean height value of the Mare-1 was
computed. Table 1 gives the relative height differences
for the locations shown in Figure 1.
Morphological analysis: The presence of numerous fine
structures has been brought out by TMC by virtue of its 5
m/pixel and 10 bit radiometry. New structural patterns
were observed which were not noticeable with HYSI and
M3 acquired simultaneously. Figure 3 illustrates this with
fine structures present around the crater and a large
number of micro-craters, as evident from its edge map
shown in the extreme right. The spatial content from the
TMC and the spectral information about the region from
HYSI and M3 would provide new information on lunar
morphology.
The preliminary topological studies carried out have
shown that Mare-1 is the lowest feature in this region,
and the edge of the MFSU is the highest region with the
difference of about 0.5 km to the nearest highest 'island
mountain' peak. The Mare-2 in the north of the island is
at an elevated height of about 0.3 km from Mare-1. The
valley region between the MFNU and the island is also at
Fig. 2 Three dimensional views of the surface
relief (top) and HYSI BR image (bottom).
(Vertical exaggeration: 15)
www.nrsc.gov.in
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Table 1. Five different features shown in Fig. 1(d) In the present model remote sensing data was used to
selected for estimating relative height differences provide the empirical data about urban growth and other
(the mean height of the Mare1 is taken as reference) spatial information. GIS was used for handling this
Feature Colour Min. Max. Mean spatial data and generating site attributes. The Artificial
(m) (m) (m) Neural Networks (ANN) was used to model the
Mare-2 cyan 17 45 32 relationships between urban growth potential and the
Island green 951 1367 1242 site attributes, as ANN can capture the nonlinear
MF-NU blue 712 910 814 complex behavior of the urban systems. Different ANN
MF-SU magenta 1558 1867 1715 architectures were trained using the back propagation
VR yellow 442 439 481 algorithm. The most optimum ANN architecture was
selected based on the training dataset accuracies. The
training dataset was extracted from the remote sensing
data of the study area. The entire dataset corresponding
to the study area was then passed through this optimum
ANN architecture to simulate urban growth. The model
was applied to simulate the urban growth of Dehradun
city using multi-date satellite data from LISS III, LISS IV
and PAN sensors.

1. IRS-1C/1D LISSIII sensor data of March 2005,

Fig. 3 A small portion highlighted in the left TMC image
is shown at full resolution in the middle and
corresponding edge feature map in the extreme right.
an elevated place at about 0.8 km. Similarly, surface
morphology has shown many new features by virtue of
5m pixel resolution combined with 10 bits/pixel of the
TMC. Many medium and micro-sized craters can be
easily identifiable when compared to companion HYSI or
M3 images. The initial results of the TMC and HYSI on
the Orientale basin as a sample data demonstrate the
capabilities of the Chandrayaan-1 TMC and HYSI for
detailed investigation of the lunar morphological and
topological characteristics.
December 2001 and Feburary1997.
2. IRS-1C/1D PAN sensor data of March 2001 and
October 1997.
3. IRS P6 LISS IV sensor data of April 2005.
The model simulated the urban growth for year 2001 and
2005 (Figure 1). The two simulated urban growth maps
were evaluated, by comparing them with the actual
growth maps of the respective years, using PCM and
Moran index. The actual growth maps for year 2001 and
2005 were obtained from remote sensing data of the
respective years.
The PCM evaluated the simulated urban growth maps,
on the basis of cell by cell matching with the actual
growth map. The PCM obtained was 74% and 76% for
years 2001 and 2005 respectively.

In order to measure how accurately the model was able

to predict the urban growth patterns, Moran index was
Urban Spatial Growth Modeling calculated for the simulated and actual urban growth
maps. For the simulated growth maps of year 2001 and
2005, the value of Moran index was 0.29 and 0.33
A study was carried out to demonstrate that the respectively. While the Moran index for actual growth
subjectivity in urban growth modeling can be reduced by maps was 0.29 and 0.3 for year 2001 and 2005
using objective techniques, like Artificial Neural respectively.
Networks (ANN). Currently no such objective technique
has been applied to model the growth of Indian cities.
Hence the ANN based model was applied to simulate
the growth of Dehradun city in Uttrakhand state, India.
The specific objectives of this study are

1. To demonstrate the use of Artificial Neural

Networks (ANN) in modeling the urban growth.
2. To demonstrate the use of remote sensing and
GIS as spatial data provider and spatial data
handler in urban growth modeling.
3. To evaluate the model results using quantitative
measures like, Percent Correct Match (PCM)
www.nrsc.gov.in

and Moran index. Simulated urban growth for (a) 2001 (b) 2005 using the
ANN based urban growth model

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Table 1 Specifications of UltracamD camera system

1. Camera
Large Format Aerial Digital Metric Camera Optics
No. of cones
In March, 2009 the long awaited Large Format Aerial PAN lens
Digital Metric Camera, the UltracamD, manufactured by
Vexel Imaging, Austria, landed at Aerial Services & Digital
Mapping Area (AS&DMA) of NRSC. This is a 11500 x Colour lens
7500 pixel full frame camera with 9µ x 9 µ pixel size with
better than ±2 µm geometric accuracy. At an altitude of Shutter speed
300 m the camera captures images with a Ground Frame rate (max)
Sampling Distance (GSD) as small as 3 cm! CCDs used
CCD pixel
Large format (9” x 9”) film cameras have been ruling the Framing
aerial photography for last few decades. The digital Frame size (PAN/Colour)
technology, though has many advantages, could not A-D conversion
replace these analog large format film cameras primarily Acquisition
due to non-availability of CCDs of large size. The On-board storage
available CCDs could not produce images of equivalent No. of Images
format and hence were not suitable for productive aerial Area per image
surveys. The digital industry at last could catch up with 2. Gyrostabilized mount
the analog film cameras with a combination of large size Angular stabilization ranges
(Pitch/Roll/Yaw)
CCDs available today and multi-image stitching
Compensable angular rates
techniques to produce an equivalent large format digital
3. AeroControl Computer
image.
Position
UltracamD camera system Velocity
Roll/Pitch
The total system consists of the UltracamD, Computer True heading
Controlled Navigation System (CCNS), Aero-Control 4. IMU (high performance Fibre Optic Gyro)
Computer (ACC), Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), three Transmission rate
axis Gyro-Stabilized Mount and Photogrammetry FOG-Bias
software suite. The camera was test flown in Wels, FOG-RW
Austria as part of Factory Acceptance and currently Resolution
calibration test flights are being carried out by AS&DMA. 5. CCNS
GPS interface
The salient features and brief specifications are given in
GPS receiver
Table 1.
8 (4 PAN, 4 colour (R-G-B-NIR))
FOV-55/37 (across/along)
Focal length-~100mm
Max.aperture:1/5.6
FOV-55/37 (across/along)
Focal length-~28mm
Max.aperture:1/4.0
1/500 to 1/32 sec
0.92sec
DALSA make FTF4027M
9 µm x 9 µm
11500x7500 / 3680 x 2400
14bits
~2TB (RAID1)
4740
575m x 375m @5cm GSD
±8.4º / ±6.2º / ±25º
15º/s typical
0.1m
0.005m/s
0.004 deg
0.01deg
256Hz
0.1 deg/h
0.02 deg/sqrt(h)
0.0019mrad
internal/external
16-channel (internal)

www.nrsc.gov.in

Figure 1 UltracamD Imaging Concept

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UltracamD Imaging Concept Advantages

● The big advantage of digital camera is that it
The camera has four panchromatic lenses capturing
completely eliminates the film processing and
images on 9 CCDs and 4 colour lenses capturing the
scanning steps required in case of analog film
image on 1 CCD each. Multiple images taken by the four
camera.
panchromatic lenses are stitched into a single large
● Improved feature interpretation and automatic point
panchromatic image during pre-processing as shown in
figure 1. Out of four panchromatic cones, four CCDs are matching possible due to true colour images
place at four corners of the second cone’s (called master ● Due to high dynamic range, features under shadows
cone, i.e. cone 0) focal plane. Cones 2 and 1 have 2 also can be extracted.
CCDs each in their focal plane and cone 3 has one CCD ● As the system is equipped with Aerocontrol, Direct
in its focal plane. In effect, 9 CCDs are used to image one Georeferencing is possible. This drastically reduces
panchromatic frame of 11500x7500 pixels. The four the field operations for Ground Control Points.
colour cones, namely, Red(R), Green (G), Blue (B) and
Near-InfraRed (NIR) view the area equivalent to that of
the stitched panchromatic frame using a single CCD of Along with advantages, the new camera throws in some
3680 x 2400 pixels. challenges also. Each 16-bit colour tiff image is about
500 MB. This fills up the NAS system quickly for large
Effectively 11500 by 7500 pixel colour images are projects. Preprocessing has to be done on field in
produced with a pan sharpening ratio of 1:3. The fine various parts of the country as the NRSC aircraft will be
shades of colour are also captured with high fidelity due on field for up to two weeks depending upon the study.
to 12-bit radiometry in colour. Figure 2 shows how even This calls for large computer system to be taken to the
the markings on an ambulance are visible very clearly field where the crew is expected to download data and
from an altitude of 400m. Figure 3 shows finer details like process it overnight.
light poles, car tyre tracks in snow.
The UltracamD once inducted into regular operations
UltracamD pre-process work flow
will give a major thrust in the areas of Large Scale
Mapping with more importance to Utility GIS
Each raw image from CCD is stored onboard in two
applications.
separate disks for redundancy (mirroring). A control
module in the storage and computing unit prepares the
quick view of the raw images and displays on a Camera
Operating System console during the flight. After
completion of the flight, the data in two redundant data
units will be synchronized to correct for any errors. The
pluggable data unit is taken to the lab and the data is
downloaded through a docking station into the
computer. The Office Processing Centre (OPC) software
processes the raw images (Level-0) into Level-2
(Independent panchromatic and colour images) and
Level-3 (Merged colour images). Table 2 shows details
of the processing levels in UltracamD OPC.

Table 2: UltracamD process levels Figure 2

Process Remarks

Level 00 two copies of 13 sub images

Level 0 13 sub images, verified for data errors
Level 1 All sub images radiometrically corrected
(intermediate files, not available to user)
Level 2 Pan images stitched and geometrically
corrected
Colour images geometrically matched to
PAN images
Total 5 files in 16bit format
Level 3 Pan-sharpened color images in R-G-B, in
Figure 3
www.nrsc.gov.in

CIR or in R-G-B-NIR. Format in 8/16 bits

Original images can be downloaded from NRSC website

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on the order in which the PR is received, acquisition

mode, type of service etc. Best efforts are made (a
IRS - Payload Programming System maximum of three attempts) to acquire the data over the
required area as per user specifications. After the
satellite is programmed, the data is collected in real-time
NRSC, made a modest beginning in the year 1975 by
or through OBSSR.
procuring and disseminating Landsat data to the Indian
users. The establishment of an Indian ground station at
For a ground station, there is no repeat request. Either
Shadnagar, 65 km from Hyderabad in 1979, facilitated
the request is serviced or the request is un-serviced.
reception of Landsat data. Data reception and payload
Each ground station is provided with a login to NRSC
programming for SPOT satellite commenced in the year
web site wherein they can place requests, download the
1987. The launch of IRS-1A/1B in 1988 and 1991
schedules/state vectors and also see the status of the
respectively, improved the data availability for Indian
requests placed. The schedules for the ground stations
users. For the first time, with multiple sensors and on-
are released on T-2 day where T is the target day. As a
board tape recorder (OBTR), IRS-1C was launched in
contingency measure e-mails are also sent to the ground
1995 as a global mission. During IRS-1D time frame,
stations.
International Ground Stations (IGS) were established for
receiving IRS-1C/1D data. The IRS-1C/1D PAN
All the programming requests from users and ground
steerability, establishment of IGSs and the presence of
stations are consolidated at NDC and an optimal
OBTR triggered the payload programming activity. The
acquisition plan for every pass is planned. This plan is
activity grew by leaps and bounds with the launch of
arrived at based on the
IRS-P4, TES, Resourcesat-1, Cartosat-1 and Cartosat-
2/2A and IMS-1. All the above satellites carry an On
1) Satellite resources and capabilities
Board Solid State Recorder (OBSSR), which facilitates
2) Priorities assigned to the requests
data acquisition outside the visibility circle of a receiving
3) Clashes between requests
station. Currently there are 18 Resourcesat-1, 8
4) Emergency and natural calamities are given
Cartosat-1, 6 IRS-1D and 6 IRS-P4 data receiving
highest priority.
stations.
All the International ground stations are governed by
Payload programming becomes essential to meet their agreement with ANTRIX Corporation of ISRO. Apart
specific data requirements of the users. The concept of from serving the user and ground stations requests,
collecting data as the way it comes does not suffice to global archives are built up using OBSSR over areas
the huge and ever growing demands of the users. With where there are no ground stations or where requests
the launch of more agile satellites, planning needs to be are anticipated in the near future.
done in a more precise and efficient manner.
For effective use of the OBSSR, the ground station at
Payload programming is done in the following cases: Svalbard, Norway, is being used as a dumping station
since 2006. At present NRSC has archived data over
1) For International ground stations 85% of the globe from Resourcesat-1 and over 50%
2) To satisfy the user requests (Normal, Urgent from Cartosat-1. It is also planned to have another
and Near Real Time) receiving station at south pole shortly.
3) To build up global archives
Users have been provided with online tools on NRSC For more details, please contact NDC.
website (www.nrsc.gov.in) to browse the data and place
order. If the user is not interested in the archived data,
they can order for fresh collection. Feasibility study is
done for all the requests placed by the users and
acquisition proposals are generated by taking into
account the existing requests and cloud cover
conditions.
The proposal contains the details of the possible dates of
acquisitions over the area of interest, during the desired
period, along with a request number. If the acquisition
proposal meets the user requirement, the user needs to
confirm the same to NRSC Data Centre (NDC) quoting
the request number. The status of the request is then set
to 'Confirmed'. The request status gets updated during
variuos stages of execution. Users can track their
request status online.
Ms. Karuna Gopal (2nd from left) delivered the lecture on
www.nrsc.gov.in

“Building Futuristic Cities - Role of Women” on the occasion

The programming requests (PR) from various users are of International Women’s Day on 06-March-09 at NRSC
carefully studied and priorities are assigned depending

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Cartosat-1 satellite is launched to meet the demands of

cartographic applications in India. The FORE (looking at
CartoDEM +26 degrees) and AFT (looking at -5 degrees) cameras
of Cartosat-1 provide near-instantaneous along track
stereo data with a spatial resolution of 2.5m. The 10 bit
A digital elevation model (DEM) is a digital file providing
quantization in radiometry helps identifying undulations
height information of a terrain at regularly spaced
in sand dunes and in snowy regions. Simultaneous
horizontal intervals. It is critical for performing geometric
stereo pair acquisitions are of great advantage since the
and radiometric corrections for terrain on remotely
radiometric parameters of the images will be identical.
sensed imagery, and allows the generation of contour
lines and terrain models. With increased use of GIS, the
The objective of the CartoDEM project is to provide
demand for DEM has increased as it provides better
contemporary accurate and consistent DEM using
information extraction in discriminating wetlands, flood
Cartosat-1 data for the entire country to satisfy the
mapping, and forest management, etc. The
diversified requirements of Indian geospatial industry
incorporation of elevation and terrain data is crucial to
and the research organisations. The CartoDEM set
many applications, particularly if radar data is being
consists of DEM organised as tiles of 7.5' x 7.5'
used, to compensate for foreshortening and layover
corresponding to the Survey of India topographic maps
effects and slope induced radiometric effects.
along with Orthoimages. There are about 19500 DEM
tiles covering the country which are under production.
There are a number of ways to generate elevation
models. One is to create point data sets by collecting
Dissemination of the DEM
elevation data from altimeter or Global Positioning
System (GPS) data, and then interpolating between the
The coarser resolution browse pictures of Ortho-images
points. This is extremely time and effort consuming.
corresponding to the DEM tiles will be put on the NRSC
Traditional surveying is also very time consuming and
website and users can browse through them like any
limits the timeliness of regional scale mapping.
other Indian satellite data before downloading. Users
Generating DEMs from remotely sensed data can be
can choose the required tiles and order them online
cost effective and efficient as it reduces field work which
through NRSC User Order Processing System (UOPS).
is predominant in the above two methods.
DEM Applications
What is CartoDEM?
Elevation data, integrated with imagery is used for
generating perspective views, useful for tourism, route
The Department of Space (DOS) is committed to meet
planning, to optimize views for developments, to lessen
the needs of the country for geospatial data and maps
visibility of forest clear-cuts from major transportation
for various applications.. The requirements of geospatial
routes, and even golf course planning and development.
community in India are highly variable; ranging from
Resource management, telecommunications planning,
coarse resolution DEM for fly through simulation to fine
and military mapping are some of the applications
resolution DEM for applications like line-of-sight
associated with DEMs.
estimation.

High

Low
www.nrsc.gov.in

Ortho-Image and corresponding DEM tile from Cartosat-1

9
 pixel 2 people

CartoDEM Tile Specifications function of DSCU is to control the movement of antenna

Element Description in auto/program track mode in both elevation and
Tiles Organization Tiles of 7.5 x7.5 SOI Map azimuth axes. TCP/IP is provided for remote monitoring
sheet extents for DEM and and control. The Pedestal interface unit acts as an
associated Ortho- images interface between DSCU and antenna pedestal/drive
Datum WGS84 system.
Projection Geographic (latitude, longitude)
DEM Cell size 1/3 arc-second (~10m at The main features of the system are
equator)
Ortho image 1/12 arc-second (~2.5m at ● Programming of PID controller coefficients for rate
resolution equator) and position loop
Planimetric 15m (CE90) ● Better than 50 msec. sampling interval
accuracy
● TCP/IP interface for remote monitoring & control
Elevation accuracy 8m (LE90)
● Secant correction for azimuth auto error
● Programming for maximum velocity and
DEM's may be used in the generation of three- acceleration limits
dimensional graphics displaying terrain slope, aspect ● Programming of travel limits for both azimuth and
(direction of slope), and terrain profiles between selected elevation axes
points. Non-graphic applications such as modelling ● Measurement of gradients
terrain and gravity data for use in the search for energy ● Angle reading from optical encoders
resources, calculating the volume of proposed ● Stow lock and boresight positioning
reservoirs, and determining landslide probability can ● Power on self check
also be developed using DEM.
The performance of system is evaluated by measuring
the step response in both axes for both directions while
antenna is tracking the reference bore sight antenna.
The PID filter parameters are optimized for desired step
response in both antenna axes for achieving tracking
accuracy of 0.1 degree. The development of digital
Digital Servo Control System servo control system has resulted in precise satellite
tracking with monitoring & control facility for remote
Remote sensing satellites are in polar orbit and transmit operation and replacement of heavy duty multi core
very narrow beam signals to ground stations. Ground cables by single RS422 cable between control room and
station needs to track these satellites in auto track mode antenna pedestal. Now the system is commissioned in
for error free data reception. NRSC ground station uses Terminal-4 at Shadnagar earth station. The other three
7.5 metre antenna for receiving data from different terminals will be upgraded with similar Digital Servo
satellites at orbital heights of 500 - 900 km. High inertia Control System.
of antenna system, narrow beam of the satellite signal
and the fast movement of the polar orbiting satellites
makes auto tracking of a satellite a challenging task. To
improve the performance of existing servo control
system, NRSC has developed a digital servo control
system using digital signal processing technology.

In order to track these low earth orbiting satellites, the

ground station antenna needs a servo control system
with a high degree of tracking accuracy, up to 0.1deg.
The main function of the servo control system is to move
the antenna precisely so as to follow the satellite Digital Servo Control Unit
trajectory from horizon to horizon. The servo
compensation loops like rate and position loop are Parameter Specifications
implemented in digital signal controllers using Type of servo system Type-II
Proportional, Integral and Derivative (PID) algorithms.
Position loop bandwidth 0.9 Hz
The mode control logic, front panel controls and I/O
Rate loop bandwidth 2.2 Hz
interfacing are implemented with the help of micro 0
Pointing error 0.08 at peak
controllers and other VLSI components. 0
Tracking accuracy 0.1 in steady state
0
Velocity 20 /sec max
Digital Servo Control System mainly consists of two Acceleration
0 2
10 /sec max
units, namely Digital Servo Control Unit (DSCU) and Modes standby, rate, auto &
www.nrsc.gov.in

Pedestal Interface Unit (PIU). These two units are program

interconnected through RS422 interface. The main

10

National Land Use and Land Cover
Rapid mapping using multi-temporal IRS AWiFS data
The development of national spatial databases on
temporal dynamics of agricultural ecosystems, forest
conversions, surface water bodies, reclamation of
wastelands etc., is realized as an urgent need to facilitate
national accounting of natural resources and planning at
regular intervals. In view of this, rapid Land Use and Land
Cover (LULC) mapping was taken up on annual basis at
national level as part of NR-Census programme of
NNRMS/ISRO. The objective of the project is to provide
information on net sown area for different cropping
seasons on annual basis and integrated LULC map at
the end of each year, starting from 2004-05, using
multitemporal AWiFS datasets on 1:250,000 scale.
NRSC has completed four cycles of assessment (2004-
05, 05-06, 06-07, 07-08) so far and brought out
temporally explicit spatial databases on Net Sown Area
(NSA), fallows, plantations, forest, water etc.
In order to precisely capture seasonal variations in LULC
and develop reliable LULC map of India, the project has
used temporally discriminant spectral signatures
developed, based on intra annual variations observed
using multi-temporal IRS AWiFS data. Monthly AWiFS
data of Aug-May time window was chosen covering the
spatial variability of crop and phenological calendars of
agriculture and forest ecosystems respectively. The
multi-temporal data sets were georeferenced with LCC
projection and WGS 84 datum. A hybrid approach
involving Hierarchical Decision Tree (using See5
Land Use / Land Cover Map of India during 2007-08
pixel 2 people
algorithm), Maximum likelihood and Interactive
classification techniques were adopted for classification.
Geo-database standards were developed to address
the issues of retrieval and storage of different data inputs
and outputs, designing metadata elements relevant to
different types of data, automated output production
and interactive querying. The process based QAS was
implemented to regulate the data flows and outputs as
per the standards.
During 2007-08, about 42.51 percent of the Total
Geographical Area (TGA) of the country (139.72 M ha)
constituted Net Sown Area (NSA). Forest cover
accounted for 67.00 M ha which is 20.39 percent of the
TGA of the country. Kharif only area constituted about
35.68 percent of NSA followed by double cropped area
(42.22 %). The double cropped area is estimated as
60.01 Mha. Plantations contributed 0.9 percent of the
NSA. NSA has decreased by 1.34 lakh ha during 4th
cycle when compared to 3rd cycle. NSA was found
increased in states like A.P. Gujarat, M.P. and U.P. and
reduction of NSA in states like Chattisgarh, Maharastra,
Orissa, and Rajasthan. There was an increase of 28.4
lakh ha. in the kharif cropped area where kharif area
increased to 1107.45 lakh ha during 2007 compared to
1079.05 lakh ha of 2006. Major increases in kharif area
has been observed in the states of Gujarat, Madhya
Pradesh, U.P. Maharastra and A.P. and decrease was
found in the states of Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkand
and Chattisgarh.
There has been significant increase in rainfall in the
meteorological subdivision of the flood affected states
like Bihar, U.P, Jharkand, A.P, West Bengal, Gujarat and
other states like Karnataka and Jharkand. The reduction
in kharif areas compared to 2006 was found in most of
the flood affected subdivisions like Bihar, West Bengal,
and Coastal A.P. except in Saurastra, Kutch and Diu,
Rayalseema.
All these databases were organized in web enabled
i n f o r m a t i o n s y s t e m B H O O S A M PA D A
(http://applications.nrsc.gov.in:15001/) to facilitate
efficient dissemination and utilization. The system
provides multi scale information on LULC at nation, state
and district level in terms of maps and statistics. www.nrsc.gov.in
Director, NRSC felicitating Dr. G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO
on being conferred with the prestigious Padma Vibhushan
11
 pixel 2 people

This Cartosat-1 image of Ghataprabha command in Karnataka state shows predominantly black soils area that are deep with fine texture
and with imperfect drainage. The dark irregular linear black smooth patches are top portions in the terrain with slight erosion. Bright finger
shaped features correspond to side slopes with rill erosion and remaining light black areas are being subjected to sheet erosion.

P2P Editorial Board K. Abdul Hakeem National Remote Sensing Centre

Dr. J. Ramana Murthy P.M. Bala Manikavelu Indian Space Research Organisation
A.V.V. Prasad B. Purnakumari Dept. of Space, Govt of India
P. Srinivasulu Vidya Jayaram Markande Balanagar, Hyderabad - 500 625.
K. Koteswara Rao Dr. D. Mitra www.nrsc.gov.in

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