The dual use of these satellites enables Space Imaging EOSAT, the exclusive provider of IRS imagery to global markets, to offer 5.8-meter resolution images to its customers twice as often as is currently possible with just the IRS-1C. The imagery is useful for applications as diverse as natural resource planning, agricultural monitoring, urban and transportation development, natural disaster assessment, media use and much more.

"High-resolution IRS imagery has proven its usefulness in a variety of industries worldwide," said Dr. Krishnaswamy, Kasturirangan, chairman of ISRO and ANTRIX. "With the addition of IRS-1D, users will have the added advantage of frequent updates - as frequently as three days if the customer requires it. This capability is crucial for those needing to closely monitor events that change over time."

For Space Imaging EOSAT, which has an exclusive agreement with ANTRIX to market and distribute IRS imagery worldwide, the addition of IRS-1D means its portfolio of advanced Earth information products - already the largest and most diverse in the world - just became even bigger and more robust.

"India has been a world leader in remote sensing satellites for decades, and with the launch of IRS-1D, they have the largest remote sensing program of any country in the world," said John Copple, Space Imaging EOSAT's chief executive officer. "The current five-satellite Indian constellation produces among the highest resolution, commercially available imagery and Earth information in the world. By including IRS imagery in our expanded CARTERRA(TM) product line, and with our worldwide network of receiving stations, Space Imaging EOSAT can provide customers with a greater variety of Earth information products than has ever been available from a single source."

As the flagships of the IRS constellation, the both IRS-1C and 1D produce 5.8-meter panchromatic (black and white) imagery, which is resampled to five-meter pixel detail. These satellites are also equipped with two-band Wide Field Sensors (WiFS) that cover a 774-square-kilometer (481-square-mile) area in a single image, as well as LISS-3 multispectral sensors that provide 23.5-meter resolution multispectral coverage.

The 23.5-meter resolution imagery is resampled to produce 20-meter pixel detail. These features combine to enable customers to map landcover, monitor water pollution, evaluate crop yields, determine soil salinity and alkalinity, spot areas and extent of deforestation, and identify transportation and utility corridors, among a myriad of other potential applications.

"The high quality of imagery from IRS-1C has enabled us to use this information in a number of valuable applications for the people of India," said N. Sampath, executive director of ANTRIX. "IRS-1D will help us take even greater advantage of this resource to improve agricultural efficiency, perform glacial-lake/flood monitoring, and conduct hydrology studies, just to name a few of the many uses. We are very gratified that so many users worldwide are also discovering the benefits of this high-quality Earth imagery."

Space Imaging EOSAT is the world's largest single supplier of space imagery, aerial photography, mapping services, and derivative geographic information products and services. The company supplies these products and services to commercial government and consumer users worldwide. Space Imaging EOSAT also collects and distributes imagery derived from the Indian IRS satellites, the U.S. Landsat satellites, the Canadian Space Agency's RADARSAT, Japan's JERS, and the European Space Agency's ERS satellites.

Space Imaging EOSAT also delivers a broad array of aerial-derived information products through its Mapping Alliance Program (MAP). The company will launch the world's first commercial one-meter resolution satellite, IKONOS 1, in December.