Sriharikota: Isro hoisted its heaviest-ever satellite from Indian soil, the 2,211-kg Insat-3DR, using an indigeno-us cryogenic engine — a complicated stage that uses hydrogen and oxyg-en as fuel — for the first time in its operational mode. The launch from the second launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Shar, Sriharikota in Nellore district, was rescheduled by 40 minutes to 4.50 pm owing to a technical anomaly while filling the fuel in the cryogenic engine.
Minutes later, Isro chairman A.S. Kiranku-mar announced that the mission was successful. So far, Isro has had five successful launches, one partial success and three failures. This is the tenth flight of GSLV. The previous missions with the indigenous cryogenic engine were treated as test flights, making this the first operational mission for Isro. The 2,211-kg Insat-3DR carries 1,255 kg of propellant. The Master Control Facility at Hasan will use this fuel to boost the satellite to it space home 36,000 km above the earth, and to keep it in place subsequently.
Its main payloads include an imager and a sounder that will provide the meteorological data. The satellite will pick up meteorological, hydrological and oceanographic data from remote uninhabited locations over the coverage area. The search and rescue payload picks up and relays the alert signals originating from the distress beacons of maritime, aviation and land-based users to the Indian Mission Control Centre located in Bengaluru.
n The mission life of Insat-3DR is 10 years and it is expected to join the operational search and rescue service provided by Insat-3D. It will also provide a variety of meteorological services to the country and continue the mission of INSAT-3D Satellite. The Indian service region includes a large part of the Indian Ocean region covering India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Tanzania for rendering distress alert services.
