ITV

Tag: METSAT

  • METSAT safe in orbital slot

    METSAT safe in orbital slot

    MUMBAI: India’s first exclusive meteorological satellite, METSAT yesterday reached its space home at 74 degree east longitude at 36,000 kms altitude achieving its intended geo- stationary orbit.

    The Very High Resolution Radiometer (VHRR) on board India’s first exclusive meteorological satellite, METSAT have been switched on from Master Control Facility, Hassan. The earth image in the Visible spectral band was taken in full-frame mode, which covers the full earth disc and the adjoining deep space.

    METSAT was launched by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C4, from Satish Dhawan Space Center, SHAR on 12 September. Following the successful launch, orbit raising manoeuvres were conducted and the spacecraft was placed in the near Geo-Synchronous Orbit (GSO). The 3-axis stabilisation of the spacecraft was carried out on 16 September, 2002, while the detailed In-Orbit Testing (IOT) of the payload started from 23 September.

    Meteorological services from METSAT are expected to commence from the first week of October.

  • PSLV – C4 takes off successfully

    PSLV – C4 takes off successfully

    MUMBAI: India’s workhorse satellite launch vehicle, PSLV took off on schedule with its Metsat payload from the Sriharikota launch site in south India this afternoon.

    PSLV-C4 is the seventh flight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and its first to place Metsat, the 1,060 kg satellite, into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). Metsat, the first exclusive meteorological satellite built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), is meant to be a precursor to the future Insat system that will have separate satellites for meteorology, telecommunication and broadcasting services. The launch of Metsat will not only prove the versatility of PSLV to launch both polar and geostationary satellites, but will also enable India to launch communication and meteorology satellites as well as remote sensing satellites of different weight classes, claims Isro.

    The flight path of PSLV-C4 has been modified to inject the Metsat into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit of 250-km perigee (nearest point to Earth) and 36,000 km apogee (farthest point to Earth). The general health of the satellite will be monitored by a ground station of the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command network (ISTRAC) located on the Indonesian island of Biak and the post launch operations will be controlled by the Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka . Ground stations at Lake Cowichan (Canada), Fucino (Italy) and Beijing (China) will support MCF in monitoring the health of the satellite and its orbit raising operations.