About 1251 seconds (about 21 minutes) after lift-off, METSAT will separate from the fourth stage of PSLV in Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit.

METSAT's solar array will be automatically deployed immediately after its separation from the fourth stage of PSLV-C4. The deployment of the array as well as the general health of the satellite will be monitored by a ground station of the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command network (ISTRAC) located on the Indonesian island of Biak. The Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka will take control of METSAT for all its post launch operations. Ground stations at Lake Cowichan (Canada), Fucino (Italy) and Beijing (China) will support MCF in monitoring the health of the satellite and its orbit raising operations.

After its launch into GTO, METSAT's orbit will be raised to the final Geostationary Orbit by firing the satellite's Liquid Apogee Motor. The satellite will be commissioned into service after the completion of orbit raising operations and positioning it in its designated orbital slot of 74 East longitude as well as the in-orbit testing of all the onboard systems.

The second stage employs indigenously built Vikas engine and carries 40 tonne of liquid propellant -- Unsymmetrical Di-Methyl Hydrazine (UDMH) as fuel and Nitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) as oxidiser. It generates a maximum thrust of about 725 kN.

The third stage uses 7.6 tonne of HTPB-based solid propellant and produces a maximum thrust of 260 kN. Its motor case is made of polyaramide fibre.

The fourth and the terminal stage of PSLV has a twin engine configuration using liquid propellant. With a propellant loading of 2.5 tonne (Mono-methyl hydrazine as fuel and Mixed Oxides of Nitrogen as oxidiser), each of these engines generates a maximum thrust of 7.4 kN.

PSLV flight control system includes: a) First stage: Secondary Injection Thrust Vector Control (SITVC) for pitch and yaw, reaction control thrusters for roll and SITVC in two strap-on motors for roll control augmentation, b) Second stage: Engine gimbal for pitch and yaw and, hot gas reaction control for roll, c) Third stage: flex nozzle for pitch and yaw and PS-4 RCS for roll and d) Fourth stage: Engine gimbal for pitch, yaw & roll and on-off RCS for control during the coast phase.

PSLV's Inertial Navigation System (INS) is situated in its equipment bay, which is located on top of the vehicle's fourth stage. INS guides the vehicle from lift-off to spacecraft injection into orbit.

The PSLV is provided with instrumentation to monitor the vehicle performance during the flight. S-band PCM telemetry and C-band transponders cater to this requirement. The tracking system provides real-time information for flight safety and for preliminary orbit determination once the satellite is injected into orbit.

PSLV employs a large number of stage auxiliary systems for stage separation, heat shield separation and jettisoning, etc.

The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, designed and developed PSLV. The inertial systems for the vehicle were developed by the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit at Thiruvananthapuram. The Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre also at Thiruvananthapuram developed the Liquid propulsion stages for the second and fourth stages of PSLV as well as the reaction control systems. Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR is the launch centre of ISRO for all its launch vehicles. ISTRAC provides Telemetry, Tracking and Command support.

One of the new elements used in METSAT is the light weight planar array antenna which transmits the data from the Very High Resolution Radiometer (VHRR) and Data Relay Transponder (DRT). The satellite carries two high capacity magnetic torquers to take care of all disturbance torques including the solar radiation pressure effects experienced in the geostationary orbit. METSAT has been designed using a new spacecraft bus employing lightweight structural elements like Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP).

METSAT was developed by ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore. The Meteorological payloads were developed by Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad. Master Control Facility at Hassan is responsible for all post launch operations on the satellite.

The launch of METSAT will prove the versatility of PSLV to launch both Polar and Geostationary satellites. Together with GSLV, it will enable India to launch communication and meteorology as well as remote sensing satellites of different weight classes. The exclusive meteorological satellite, METSAT, once commissioned, is expected to vastly improve the meteorological services being provided by INSAT systems.