INSAT-3DR is India’s advanced meteorological satellite, launched on 8 September 2016 aboard GSLV-F05. Operating in geostationary orbit, it provides real-time weather data for forecasting, cyclone tracking, disaster management, and search & rescue operations across India and neighbouring regions.

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• INSAT-3DR was launched on 8 September 2016 aboard GSLV-F05.
• The satellite operates in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) at an altitude of about 35,786 km.
• It is part of India’s INSAT-3 series of meteorological satellites.
• The INSAT series supports communication, broadcasting, meteorology, and search & rescue services.
• INSAT-3DR carries a 6-channel Multi-Spectral Imager for weather observation.
• It also carries a 19-channel Atmospheric Sounder to study the vertical structure of the atmosphere.
• The satellite is equipped with a Data Relay Transponder (DRT) and a Search and Rescue Transponder (SART).
• It provides half-hourly multispectral images for operational weather forecasting.
• INSAT-3DR supports cyclone tracking, rainfall estimation, nowcasting, and monsoon monitoring.
• The satellite measures sea surface temperature, cloud characteristics, and night-time fog using infrared sensors.
• After the INSAT-3D Atmospheric Sounder ceased operations in September 2020, INSAT-3DR became the primary source of hourly atmospheric sounder data.
• Its data are extensively used by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for weather forecasting and disaster management.
• Nowcasting refers to very short-range weather forecasting, usually covering the next few hours.
• LSTM (Long Short-Term Memory) is an AI-based neural network model used for short-term weather prediction and satellite image forecasting.