Stage Set for ISRO’s INSAT-3DS Launch Aboard GSLV F14 Rocket at 5:35 pm Today

Sriharikota: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch its meteorological satellite INSAT-3DS aboard GSLV F14 rocket at 5:35 pm on Saturday evening from the Sriharikota spaceport.

INSAT-3DS Satellite is a follow-on mission of Third Generation Meteorological Satellite from Geostationary Orbit.

The launch is scheduled to be at 5:35 pm IST on February 17, 2024, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR) in Sriharikota.

Through this mission, the INSAT-3DS meteorological satellite will be put into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).

Funded by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, the INSAT-3DS satellite is tailored for enhanced meteorological observations and monitoring of land and ocean surfaces. It will help in more accurate weather forecasts and disaster warnings.

Following the launch, the INSAT-3DS satellite will undergo subsequent orbit-raising manoeuvres to position itself in a Geo-stationary Orbit.

The satellite will augment the Meteorological services along with the presently operational INSAT-3D and INSAT-3DR satellites.

The primary objectives of the satellite are to monitor Earth’s surface, and carry out oceanic observations and its environment in various spectral channels of meteorological importance.

Ahead of the mission launch, ISRO Chairman S Somanath offered prayers at Sri Chengalamma Temple in Sullurpet, Andhra Pradesh.