India's weather images come from INSAT-3DS and INSAT-3DR, two ISRO geostationary satellites about 35,780 km above the equator. Their latest orbital elements place INSAT-3DS near 82° East and INSAT-3DR near 74° East. This page shows their estimated live positions, propagated from public orbital data with the SGP4 model — not live telemetry.
This site tracks the satellites; it does not publish their pictures. ISRO's Space Applications Centre posts INSAT-3DS and INSAT-3DR imagery on MOSDAC, and the India Meteorological Department shows the latest satellite cloud images on mausam.imd.gov.in.
INSAT-3DS launched on 17 February 2024 on GSLV-F14 from Sriharikota. INSAT-3DR launched on 8 September 2016 on GSLV-F05. INSAT-3D, the first of the series, launched on 26 July 2013 on an Ariane 5 from Kourou. All three are geostationary: each completes one orbit per day and hangs over a fixed point on the equator.
Individual pages: INSAT-3DR · INSAT-3D · all ISRO satellites. Official cloud images: MOSDAC and IMD.
India's live weather images come mainly from two ISRO geostationary satellites, INSAT-3DS (launched 2024) and INSAT-3DR (launched 2016). Each carries a six-channel imager that photographs clouds in visible and infrared light and a nineteen-channel sounder that measures temperature and humidity through the atmosphere. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) uses their data for cloud monitoring, monsoon tracking and cyclone forecasts.
The official images are published by ISRO and IMD, not on this site. ISRO's Space Applications Centre posts INSAT-3DS and INSAT-3DR imagery and data products on MOSDAC (mosdac.gov.in), and the India Meteorological Department shows the latest satellite cloud pictures in the satellite section of mausam.imd.gov.in. This page shows where the satellites themselves are.
The position shown on this page is an estimate updated every second from INSAT-3DS's latest public orbital elements, propagated with the SGP4 model. It is not telemetry from the satellite. INSAT-3DS reached geostationary orbit in 2024 and supplies imagery and atmospheric soundings to the India Meteorological Department.
INSAT-3DS and INSAT-3DR are in geostationary orbit, about 35,786 km above the equator. At that height one orbit takes exactly as long as Earth takes to turn once, so the satellite appears fixed over one longitude. That lets it watch the same part of the planet, including all of India, continuously — which is what weather forecasting needs.
The imager takes pictures: six channels from visible light to thermal infrared, including a water-vapour channel, show where clouds are, how high and cold their tops are, and where moisture is moving. The sounder takes measurements instead of pictures: nineteen infrared channels are combined to work out how temperature and humidity change with height, which feeds numerical weather models.
Not with the naked eye. At about 35,780 km, geostationary satellites are roughly ninety times farther away than the ISS and far too faint to see without a telescope. For satellites you can actually spot from India, see the satellites visible tonight page.
INSAT-3DS is catalogued as NORAD 58990, international designator 2024-033A. INSAT-3DR is NORAD 41752 (2016-054A) and INSAT-3D is NORAD 39216 (2013-038B).