Singapore has a new eye in the sky: a radar-equipped earth observation satellite called TeLEOS-2.
India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C55 (PSLV-C55) launched the satellite yesterday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, a specialised space port facility for rocket launches in southern India.
TeLEOS-2 went into low earth orbit along with the LUMELITE-4 micro satellite, which was also developed by Singapore. Both satellites orbit the earth at an altitude of about 586km.
TeLEOS-2 was developed by Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency and the republic's national space office, the Office for Space Technology and Industry. The Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) on the satellite, which points earthward like an open umbrella, will be used to provide "commercial satellite imagery".LUMELITE-4 was developed by the National University of Singapore's Satellite Technology and Research Centre (STAR; a clever acronym) to provide realtime tracking of maritime traffic for better predictive analysis, as well as secure maritime communications between ships and with port controllers.
The TeLEOS constellation is featured in the war fiction novel, Pukul Habis. In the story, the fictional TeLEOS constellation of camera-equipped and SAR-capable earth observation satellites are used to survey Peninsular Malaysia during the Period of Tension.
The imaginary scenarios involving Singapore's TeLEOS satelllies were written before 2022 - way before the real TeLEOS-2 roared into orbit.
Incidentally, the Malaysian counter satellite capabilities described in Pukul Habis were inspired by real-life capabilities. Here's a screen shot of Kor Risik Diraja's Remote Sensing Defence Intelligence Application System (RSDIAS), which you can also read about in Pukul Habis along with how Malaysia might apply its SATellite Reconnaissance Advance Notice or SATRAN concept of operations to foil sensors on earth observation satellites.
Hope you all enjoy the story and find it informative.
No comments:
Post a Comment