INSAT-3DS launched successfully 

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday successfully launched the INSAT-3DS mission into space aboard the heavy-lift Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk-II (GSLV-MkII).

The mission, designed to operate in space for 10 years, aims to boost India's environment monitoring, oceanic observations, weather forecasting, and disaster relief operations. It took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 5:35 pm IST.

The launch vehicle soared through the atmosphere to deploy the satellite initially into a geostationary transfer orbit, following which it would be moved into a geostationary orbit around the planet. This orbit is over 35,000 kilometers above the Earth's equator.