Cartosat-2F

Originally, Cartosat-2E was published as the last Cartosat-2 satellite to be launched, as Cartosat-3 Series spacecraft were scheduled to launch in 2018. Cartosat-2F was first listed on launch schedules as Cartosat-2ER, a name possibly indicating it was originally a replica of Cartosat-2E to be used as a spare.[3]

The PSLV-C40 launch was initially placed on hiatus following failures with the nose cone and satellite deployment systems of PSLV-C39, but was cleared to launch once these issues were resolved.[4] It was launched at 09:29 local time from First Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 12 January 2018,[5] the third of the series to be launched within a year.[6] After 16 minutes and 37 seconds, Cartosat-2F was separated from the launch vehicle, and the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ITTCN) took control of the satellite for maneuvers to its desired orbit.[5] The launch also marked the 100th satellite successfully put into orbit by the ISRO.[7]

Like other satellites in the series, Cartosat-2F was built on an IRS-2 bus. It uses reaction wheels, magnetorquers, and hydrazine-fueled reaction control thrusters for stability. It has a design service life of five years.[6] Cartosat-2F has two main remote sensing instruments, a panchromatic camera called PAN and a four channel visible/near infrared radiometer called HRMX.[2]

The first image returned by the mission, on 15 January 2018; was of Holkar Stadium and the surrounding community in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.[8] The PAN camera is designed to have a spatial resolution less than one meter and a swath width of ten kilometers.[9]

On 27 November 2020 at 01:49 UTC, Cartosat-2F and Russia's Kanopus-V No.3 spacecraft came very close while in orbit, passing each other at distance of nearly 200 to 450 meters.[10][11]