Megha-Tropiques-1 (MT1)

  • 16 Mar 2023

On March 7, 2023, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) conducted a successful controlled re-entry of its decommissioned satellite, Megha-Tropiques-1 (MT1).

Megha-Tropiques-1 (MT1) satellite, launched jointly by ISRO and the French space agency, CNES, on October 12, 2011, was designed for tropical weather and climate studies.

  • Exceeding Mission Life: Despite exceeding its three-year mission life, MT1 continued to provide valuable data services for over a decade, supporting regional and global climate models until 2021.
  • Space Debris Mitigation: In line with the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (UN/IADC) space debris mitigation guidelines, ISRO identified an uninhabited area in the Pacific Ocean between 5°S to 14°S latitude and 119°W to 100°W longitude as the targeted re-entry zone for MT1.
  • Significance:The successful controlled re-entry of MT1 has made a significant contribution to the mitigation of space debris risks, as well as to ensuring the safe operations of future space missions.