Kalpana-1 was the first dedicated meteorological satellite launched by Indian Space Research Organisation using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on 12 September 2002. The satellite is three-axis stabilized and is powered by solar panels, getting up to 550 watts (0.74 hp) of power. The METSAT bus was used as the basis for the Chandrayaan lunar orbiter mission of 2008.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is an expendable medium-lift launch vehicle designed and operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was developed to allow India to launch its Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites into sun-synchronous orbits, a service that was, until the advent of the PSLV in 1993, commercially available only from Russia. PSLV can also launch small size satellites into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO).

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the space agency of the Government of India headquartered in the city of Bangalore. Its vision is to "harness space technology for national development while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration."