Isro’s GSLV-F14/Insat-3DS mission successful; satellite to enhance weather forecast

SRIHARIKOTA: The

Indian Space Research Organisation

(

Isro

) on Saturday successfully launched

Insat-3DS

, a third-generation

weather satellite

that will augment

meteorological services

and improve the accuracy of weather forecasts in the country.
GSLV-F14

carrying Insat-3DS lifted off from the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 5.35pm.

Around 18 minutes after liftoff, the three-stage rocket placed the weather satellite in a 253km geosynchronous transfer orbit.
Isro chairman S Somanath said the launch vehicle had achieved a very good orbit. “The success of GSLV has given us the confidence to accomplish NISAR (NASA-ISRO SAR) launch which is our next mission.”
Insat-3DS satellite is a follow-on mission of a third generation meteorological satellite from geostationary orbit. The satellite will augment the meteorological services along with the presently operational Insat-3D and Insat-3DR in-orbit satellites.

Mission director Tomy Joseph said, “The naughty boy has matured as a disciplined boy. Like PSLV, GSLV has “lso become reliable.'
Isro said the satellite is an exclusive mission designed for enhanced meteorological observations and monitoring land and ocean surfaces for weather forecasting and disaster warning.
The payloads in the satellite include a six-channel imager, a 19-channel sounder, a data relay transponder and a satellite-aided search and rescue transponder.

Officials said the payloads would generate major geophysical parameters like sea and land surface temperatures, cloud properties, fog, rainfall, snow cover, snow depth, fire, smoke, aerosol, water vapour wind, upper tropospheric humidity, humidity profile and total ozone to study about atmosphere, land and ocean.
The data from the satellite would be used by various departments of ministry of earth sciences, including India Meteorology Department, National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), to provide improved weather forecasts and meteorological services. The ministry of earth sciences has funded the launch.