Meteorological satellite INSAT-3DS will be launched into space onboard a Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Saturday evening, in a crucial mission for the rocket nicknamed “naughty boy” for its spotty record.
The GSLV-F14 will lift off at 5.35 pm Saturday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, the ISRO said. It will be the rocket’s 16th mission overall and its 10th flight using the indigenously developed cryogenic engine.
The mission’s success will be crucial for the GSLV, which is scheduled to carry later this year the Earth observation satellite, NISAR, which is being jointly developed by NASA and ISRO.NISAR will map the entire globe in 12 days and provide “spatially and temporally consistent” data for understanding changes in Earth’s ecosystems, ice mass, sea level rise and natural hazards such as earthquakes and tsunamis, according to ISRO.
At least four of the 15 launches using the GSLV so far have been unsuccessful. In comparison, only three of the 60 missions so far by ISRO’s workhorse PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle), and none of the seven by its successor LVM-3, have failed.
INSAT-3DS, a 2,274 kg satellite with a mission life of 10 years, will take over the functions of INSAT-3D (launched in 2013) and INSAT-3DR (September 2016) that have come to the end of their mission life. It has been fully funded by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
After around 18 minutes of launch, the satellite will be injected in a 36,647 km x 170 km elliptical orbit.
Once operational, it will provide advanced weather observations of both land and ocean surfaces. It will help in short-range forecasts of extreme weather events such as thunderstorms, provide visibility estimation for aviation, and help in studying forest fire, smoke, snow cover, climate studies.
