India's weather satellite successfully launched by European rocket

India's meteorological satellite INSAT-3D was successfully launched by an European rocket in French Guiana early on Friday, local newspaper Times India reported. The INSAT-3D satellite, designed to provide meteorological observation and monitoring of land and ocean surfaces, took off with European space consortium Arianespace's Ariane 5 rocket from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana. "I am happy to inform you that the master control facility at Hassan in India has already received signals from INSAT-3D," Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) K Radhakrishnan said minutes after the launch. According to ISRO, INSAT-3D adds a new dimension to weather monitoring through its atmospheric sounding system, which provides vertical profiles of temperature, humidity and integrated ozone from surface to top of the atmosphere.