The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully deorbited and re-entered the decommissioned Megha Tropiques-1 (MT-1) satellite into the Earth’s atmosphere. Launched on October 12, 2011, and built for tropical weather and climate studies, the MT-1 was ISRO’s first major joint satellite project with the French space agency, CNES. The orbital lifetime of this nearly 1-tonne satellite, which operated at an altitude of 867 km, was said to be more than 100 years. However, the MT-1 mission did not design the satellite to deorbit after the end of its life. However, when the MT-1’s mission ended, the two space agencies realized…
Author: Ajey Lele
Ajey Lele
Group Captain Ajey Lele (Retd.) is an accomplished strategist, writer and military veteran and is now a consultant to the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). Dr Lele received the prestigious K. Subrahmanyam Award in 2013 for his excellent contributions to strategic studies. He headed MP-IDSA's Centre on Strategic Technologies and was the reputed think tank's Fellow for several years. He started his professional career as an officer in the Indian Air Force in 1987. He is a doctorate from the School of International Studies at JNU, New Delhi and two Master's, one in Physics from Pune University and the other in Defence and Strategic Studies from Madras University.
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