New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation's GSLV-F05 rocket has successfully placed its advanced weather satellite INSAT-3DR into the orbit on Thursday.


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The INSAT-3DR, an advanced weather satellite, was placed in orbit around 17 minutes after the GSLV-F05 lifted off from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 4:50 p.m.



The launch was originally scheduled at 4.10pm, however, it was delayed by 40 minutes as the fuelling of the third stage of the rocket took longer than expected.


"Today we reached one more landmark, successfully putting the weather monitoring satellite into orbit," ISRO's Chairman AS Kiran Kumar said.


GSLV-F05 is the flight in which the indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) will be carried on-board for the fourth time during a GSLV flight. It is significant since it is the first operational flight of GSLV carrying Cryogenic Upper Stage.


The INSAT-3DR satellite will supplement the meteorological and data relay services of its predecessor INSAT-3D, which is in operation since July 26, 2013.
 
INSAT-3DR is equipped with modern instruments to study weather patterns and to help in the surface-level search and rescue operations.
Besides offering a host of services, INSAT-3DR would join the operational Search and Rescue service provided by INSAT-3D to various users, including Coast Guard, Airport Authority of India, Shipping and Defense Services.


The previous advanced weather satellite INSAT-3D launch took place on July 26, 2013 from French Guiana.


With the launch of INSAT-3DR, the Indian space agency has successfully launched three satellites weighing over two tonnes of the six satellites weighing over two tonnes it had flown in a GSLV rocket.


The successful flight of the GSLV rocket on Thursday gives the Indian space programme a much-needed boost as getting the third stage cryogenic engine right is important for its future space programmes as well as for commercial launches.


The mission duration of INSAT-3DR is of 8 years.