‘Naughty boy tamed’: Isro’s GSLV places weather satellite in orbit

NT Bureau, Agencies

Sriharikota: Moving ahead on its mission to study the Earth and ocean surfaces, Isro on Saturday successfully launched its next generation weather observation satellite INSAT-3DS onboard a GSLV rocket into a precise orbit.

The flawless mission prompted the Isro to virtually heave a sigh of relief over the challenging GSLV rocket technology, as the director of today's mission said the "naughty boy has matured into an obedient, disciplined boy," apparently referring to its past unsuccessful missions.

Isro Chairman S Somanath said the success gave the space agency "greater confidence," as the GSLV will be next deployed in the NISAR mission, a collaborative effort with the US' NASA.

Somanath, also Secretary, Department of Space announced the successful accomplishment of the mission.

"The spacecraft has been injected into a very good orbit. The injection conditions were as expected and the vehicle has performed very very well...INSAT3DS is the next generation weather satellite with improved capability over the existing INSAT series. This will augment the capability of observation of various atmospheric parameters that leads to information related to weather and climate," he said from the Mission Control Center here.

Mission Director Tomy Joseph, referring to the GSLV said, "the naughty boy has matured as a very obedient and disciplined boy."

"Like PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle), GSLV has also become a robust vehicle for Isro," he said, with his remarks prompting cheers and applause. Somanath added that with today's mission, ISRO's confidence on GSLV was "further high."

"As all of you know, the next mission of the GSLV is going to be the NASAISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite and this gives greater confidence," for the next mission, he said.

Imteyaz Ahmad, Satellite Director of Saturday's mission said the payloads of INSAT-3DS have been significantly enhanced and the enhancements are in terms of configuration, content and capability resulting in increased imaging throughput.

The satellite was on its way to the destination, with the solar panels having been deployed.

A series of orbit raising manoeuvres will be performed in the next few days followed by in orbit testing and commissioning of the spacecraft, Ahmad added.

ISRO Chairman S Somanath said the success gave the space agency "greater confidence," as the GSLV will be next deployed in the NISAR mission, a collaborative effort with the US' NASA.

"The injection conditions were as expected and the vehicle has performed very very well...this will augment the capability of observation of various atmospheric parameters that leads to information related to weather and climate," he said.

Project director Imteyaz Ahmad congratulated the team members on the successful launch of the mission.

He also added that this satellite’s data collection and dissemination capabilities will transform meteorological services, and enhance weather forecasting and disaster preparedness to further climate action.

The scientist from U R Rao Satellite Centre, Bengaluru added, “This will be another colourful feather in India’s constellations in space."

With experience spanning over 25 years, Imteyaz emphasised that the project, funded by the Ministry of Earth Sciences and in progress since 2016, aims to provide valuable support to the India Meteorological Department through the newly developed satellite.