The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is gearing up for the launch of the country’s latest weather satellite, INSAT-3DS, scheduled for Saturday evening, according to a senior official.
The countdown for the launch will commence on Friday afternoon at 14:05 hours, the official revealed on condition of anonymity.
Scheduled as the 16th mission, the GSLV rocket (GSLV-F14) will lift off from the second launch pad at the Sriharikota rocket port in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday at 5:35 pm.
Standing at 51.7 meters tall and weighing 420 tonnes at lift-off, the GSLV rocket will carry India’s latest weather satellite, INSAT-3DS, aiming to place it in a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. Subsequent orbit-raising manoeuvres will ensure the satellite is positioned in a Geo-Stationary Orbit.
Initially slated for a 5:30 pm launch, ISRO later revised the lift-off time to 5:35 pm.
INSAT-3DS, India’s third-generation meteorological satellite, is fully funded by the Ministry of Earth Sciences. It is equipped for enhanced meteorological observations and monitoring of land and ocean surfaces for weather forecasting and disaster warning purposes.
The satellite is poised to bolster meteorological services alongside the operational INSAT-3D and INSAT-3DR satellites.
Utilising data from INSAT-3DS, various departments under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, including the India Meteorology Department (IMD), National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), and other agencies, will enhance weather forecasts and meteorological services.
ISRO outlined the primary objectives of the mission, including monitoring the Earth’s surface, conducting oceanic observations, providing vertical profiles of atmospheric parameters, enabling data collection and dissemination capabilities, and offering satellite-aided search and rescue services.
