IGS 4A is a more advanced and experimental optical satellite.
In about a decade, the operation will be reduced to three more advanced satellites to avoid duplication.
When the mirrors in the next generation of advanced satellites are heated, as sunlight would do in outer space, they warp.
With the advanced satellites, the mirror is flat and acts only as a relay in a complex sensor system.
The five-year lifetime of the current advanced satellite ends in February 1992, although it might last longer.
Cartosat-2 is an advanced remote sensing satellite capable of providing scene-specific spot imagery.
The advanced satellite will employ a new 1-4K Bus (computer network).
Having drawn thirstily on their more advanced satellites in better days, the Russians now find some a drag on their resources.
It is configured with 82 spotbeams, making it the most advanced multi-spot satellite designed in the world to date.
For instance, they could launch technically more advanced satellites and devise market-orientated ways of selling the data around the world.