ISRO launches advanced weather satellite INSAT-3DR
New Delhi [India], Sept. 8 (ANI): The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) today launched GSLV-F05 rocket, carrying advanced weather satellite INSAT-3DR from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
For the GSLV rocket, this is the tenth mission overall. Its lift off mass would be 415.2 tonnes and the weight of satellite is 2,211 kilogram.
The two previous experimental flights of the GSLV Mark-Two class rockets with indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage have been successful.
The satellite INSAT 3DR is to provide valuable meteorological data to different user agencies, including the Indian Meteorological Department, the Coast Guard, shipping and civil aviation departments.
The imagers and sounders in the satellite will provide information on estimated rainfall, sea and land surface temperature, humidity, cloud cover, snow and fog condition at different altitudes in the atmosphere.
Its data relay transponders will be able to receive from automatic weather stations even from uninhabited remote places.
The rocket, with the indigenously developed cryogenic upper stage as its fourth stage, will place the satellite, weighing 2,211-kg, in the Geostationary Transfer Orbit.
Its another transponder is dedicated for providing timely information on search and rescue mission for people involved in the task on the ground or on the sea by picking up signals from emergency beacons.
The INSAT 3DR satellite it carries is set to maintain continuity of its predecessors including the INSAT 3A, 3D and Kalpana-1, which are ageing, though still operational. Its mission life is about ten years. (ANI)