India has launched its advanced weather satellite INSAT-3DR onboard GSLV-F05 from the spaceport in Sriharikota. The 49.13-metre tall rocket lifted off from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. INSAT-3DR will provide service continuity to earlier meteorological missions and further augment the capability to provide various meteorological, search and rescue services. INSAT-3DR would join INSAT-3A and INSAT-3D to provide operational search and rescue service.

About INSAT-3DR

INSAT-3DR, the 10th flight of GSLV, assumes significance for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as it is the first operational flight of the rocket fitted with the indigenous cryogenic upper stage. Earlier, GSLV launches with indigenous cryogenic stage were under ‘developmental’ phase. It will have an operational life of about ten years.

Payloads

The payloads in INSAT-3DR are Imager, Sounder, Data-Relay Transponder and Satellite Aided Search and Rescue Transponder.

• The multi-spectral ‘Imager’ would generate images of earth every 26 minutes. It would provide information on various parameters, sea surface temperature, snow cover, cloud motion winds.
• The Data-Relay Transponder would be used for receiving meteorological, hydrological and oceanographic data.
• The Satellite Aided Search and Rescue Transponder would pick up and relay alert signals originating from distress beacons of maritime, aviation, among others.

Did You Know?

• GSLV-F05 also marked a hat-trick of success for the indigenously developed complex cryogenic upper stage (CUS) after GSLV-D5 (January 2014) and D6 (August 2015) missions, which had launched GSAT-14 and GSAT-6 satellites into precise orbit.
• It was the seventh successful mission this year including the IRNSS series and the scramjet propulsion mission.
• KALPANA-1, INSAT-3A and INSAT-3D are three operational meteorological satellites of India.