India to Launch Satellite to Monitor Seawater

India plans to launch a satellite, named SARAL, in collaboration with the French National Space Agency (FNSA) to monitor seawater levels.

The satellite will carry an Altika altimetre to study sea surface heights and an Argos payload, which is a satellite-based data-collection platform.

The satellite is a joint project of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and FNSA.

The Altika and Argos payloads are built and supplied by FNSA while the satellite will be built and launched by ISRO.

The satellite is expected to be launched in 2011.