Chennai: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is getting ready to launch Resourcesat 2, a remote sensing earth observation satellite, by the end of February, officials said on Monday.

Remote sensing satellites send back pictures and other data for various uses. India is a major player in providing such data in the global market.

The Resourcesat-2 will replace Resourcesat-1 launched in 2003, which has outlived its original mission life of five years.

According to ISRO officials, the satellite has reached the Sriharikota rocket launch centre around 80 km from Chennai and tests are being conducted.

The satellites will be carried by the ISRO's polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV). The launch will be between February 20-25 in the morning.

The PSLV will also be carrying two other small satellites made in Singapore and Russia.

With nine orbiting satellites and the tenth one to join in February, India has the largest number of remote sensing satellites in the world providing imageries in a variety of spatial resolutions.

The remote sensing satellites currently operational are: Resourcesat-1, Cartosat-2B, Oceansat-2, RISAT-2, Cartosat-2A, IMS-1, Cartosat-2, Resourcesat-1 and TES.

For some time Resourcesat-2 and Resourcesat-1 will work together before the later is fully replaced, the official said.

Compared to Resourcesat-1, the multispectral swath of Resourcesat-2 has been enhanced from 23 km to 70 km based on user needs.

Suitable changes, including miniaturization in payload electronics, have been incorporated in Resourcesat-2, said the official. IANS