Kalpana-1 was the first dedicated meteorological satellite launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on 12 September 2002. The satellite is three-axis stabilized and is powered by solar panels, getting up to 550 W 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-C4 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—an Indian born NASA astronaut who perished in the 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, and a Data Relay Transponder (DRT) payload to provide data to weather terrestrial platforms. Its mission were to collect data in layer of clouds, water vapor, and temperature of the atmosphere and to establish a small satellite I-1000 bus system which can meet the exclusive service requirements of a meteorological payload for earth imageries Kalpana-1 went out of service in mid-2018.

VHRR scanning radiometer

The three band images are: