GSLV-F05 lobs advanced weather satellite INSAT-3DR into orbit

The satellite is expected to provide a variety of meteorological services to the country.

ISRO's GSLV-F05, carrying advanced weather satellite INSAT-3DR, lifts off from Sriharikota. Photo: V. Ganesan

The Indian Space Research Organisation's GSLV-F05 rocket successfully placed INSAT-3DR advanced weather satellite in the intended orbit on Thursday evening.

The satellite is expected to provide a variety of meteorological services to the country.

Updates (with inputs from T.K. Rohit):

5.12 p.m.: ISRO chairman Kiran Kumar says the satellite has been put into orbit and the launch vehicle performed extremely well. P. Kunhikrishnan, director, SHAR, says, "The third successful launch of the GSLV, with an indigenously developed cryogenic upper stage, has demonstrated its performance."

5.12 p.m.: INSAT-3DR successfully put into orbit after 1024 seconds (17 minutes).

4.54 p.m.: ISRO says the launch is successful.

4.50 p.m.: ISRO's GSLV-F05 carrying advanced weather satellite INSAT-3DR lifts off from Sriharikota

4.25 p.m.: “Yes. It has been delayed by 40 minutes. ...due to delay in cryostage filling operations, the launch is rescheduled to 4.50 PM,” says an ISRO official. Another official said, it may not be an “anomaly” but may be as a precautionary measure, it has been revised to 4.50 p.m.

3.43 p.m.: GSLV F05 launch has been delayed by 40 minutes, our correspondent T.K. Rohit reports.

3.37 p.m.: The country started on the GSLV rocket plan in the late 1980s and early 1990s so as to be able to put its 2,000-kg communication satellites to geosynchronous orbits at 36,000 km in space from its own soil. It suffered a setback from geopolitics combined with high-technology commerce: Russia, at the behest of the USA, went back on a deal to transfer critical cryogenic technology for the last and crucial stage of the rocket. Starting in the mid-1990s, ISRO has developed its own cryo engine and has tested it on three vehicles since 2010.

Twenty years on, that old dream vehicle is about to become ready for regular work. On the eve of its flight carrying the weather satellite INSAT-3DR, A.S.Kiran Kumar, ISRO Chairman and the fifth to preside over the GSLV programme, speaks to Madhumathi D.S. about what it means to our country. > Full interview here