Countdown begins for India's 100th space mission

, Sept 7: It was just over two days left when the countdown for India's landmark 100th space mission started on Friday.

's old warhorse

rocket was all set to reach out to the space on Sept 9 along with two foreign satellites from Sriharikota satellite launch centre in Andhra Pradesh.

It is learnt that the launch authorisation board for the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C21/SPOT-6/PROITERES mission, which met at Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on Sept 5, cleared the launch mission at 9.51 am on Sunday, agency reports said. The 51-hour countdown started at 6.51 am on Friday.

The countdown will see propellant-filling work of the liquid propellant second stage (PS2) and fourth stage (PS4) of the launch vehicle being carried out, added the reports. Other mandatory check-ups of the launch vehicle and spacecraft will also be carried out.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will watch the mission during which the SPOT-6 remote-sensing satellite from France and Japanese spacecraft PROITERES would be placed in orbit of 655 km and at 98.23 degree inclination by PSLV C-21.

OneIndia News

(With agency inputs)