India's meteorological satellite INSAT-3D launched by ISRO

India's meteorological satellite INSAT-3D launched by ISRO

INDIA'S second exclusive meteorological satellite INSAT-3D was on Friday successfully launched by a European rocket from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana, augmenting capability in weather forecasting, disaster warning and search and rescue services.

Hie satellite was placed in an elliptical Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) by French commercial space transportation company Arianespace's Ariane-5 rocket. 32 minutes and 48 seconds after its lift-off at 1.24 AM 1ST. In its 56th consecutive successful mission, the workhorse vehicle Ariane 5 also launched Alphasat. Europe's largest ever telecommunication satellite. INSAT-3D. carrying advanced payloads including improved imaging system, will add a new dimension to weather monitoring through the newly developed atmospheric sounding system which would provide vertical profiles of temperature, humidity and integrated ozone from surface to top of the atmosphere.

The Bangalore-headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that its Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka took over the control of INSAT-3D soon after it was placed in orbit. "Preliminary health checks of all the subsystems of INSAT-3D bus were performed and the satellite's health is satisfactory." ISRO said.