Kalpana-1

Kalpana-1 is the first dedicated meteorological satellite launched by Indian Space Research Organisation using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on 2002-09-12. The satellite is three-axis stabilized and is powered by solar panels, getting up to 550 watts of power. The METSAT bus was used as the basis for the Chandrayaan lunar orbiter mission of 2008.

History

Originally known as MetSat-1, the satellite was the first launched by the PSLV into the Geostationary orbit. On February 5, 2003 it was renamed to Kalpana-1 by the Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in memory of Kalpana Chawla—a NASA astronaut who perished in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.

The satellite features a Very High Resolution scanning Radiometer (VHRR), for three-band images (visible, infrared, and thermal infrared) with a resolution of 2 x 2 km, and a Data Relay Transponder (DRT) payload to provide data to weather terrestrial platforms. Its mission is to collect data in layer of clouds, water vapor, and temperature of the atmosphere.