GSLV rocket lifts off from Sriharikota

Sriharikota, AP Sep 2: GSLV-F04, the fifth flight of the Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), took off from the SHAR Range at 1820 hrs here today.

Carrying India's latest communication satellite INSAT-4CR as payload, GSLV-F04 would place the satellite in the Geo-Synchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).

The launch was delayed by two hours as the countdown was stopped 15 seconds before the lift-off due to a technical snag. The countdown clock was reset a couple of times before the launch was fixed at 1820 hrs. It was officially announced 12 minutes before the take off the automatic launch sequence programme would come into the picture with the computer taking over the launch from there on.

The computer detected that one of the valves was not properly closed and automatically put the launch on hold.

The scientists rectified the snag and rescheduled the launch for 1820 hrs.

It was an awesome sight as the giant 49-metre-tall 414-tonne three-stage vehicle with solid, liquid and cryogenic stages, roared into the skies, leaving behind a trail of smoke with a rumble that shook the earth.

A team of scientists, including Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman G Madhavan Nair, watched with bated breath, the course of the flight from the Mission Control Centre at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here.

UNI