On Saturday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced the handover of its meteorological satellite INSAT-3DS to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The satellite is configured around ISRO’s I-2k bus platform with a liftoff mass of 2275 kg.
ISRO concluded its vital testing of the INSAT-3DS satellite, which included satellite assembly, integration, and testing activities completed at the Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru.
The INSAT-3DS is a user-funded initiative with the Ministry of Earth Science (MoES) and was flagged to Sriharikota for the GSLV-F14 mission with a mid-February target.
According to ISRO, the satellite is equipped with state-of-the-art payloads, including a satellite-assisted search and rescue (SAS&R) transponder and a data relay transponder (DRT) for communication. The satellite’s SAS&R transponder is designed to provide worldwide coverage for search and rescue services by relaying distress signals or alarm detections from beacon transmitters. Additionally, the satellite consists of nineteen channel imagers and sounder meteorology payloads for weather forecasting and disaster warning.
The DRT instrument enhances weather forecasting by obtaining meteorological, hydrological, and oceanic data from automatic weather stations (AWS) or data collection platforms.
