Countdown for Indian rocket carrying 104 satellites going smoothly

The rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is scheduled to blast off from Sriharikota, 80 km from here, at 9.28 a.m. on Wednesday with major cargo being the 714 kg Indian Cartosat-2 series satel

Chennai, Feb 14: The countdown for the launch of Indian rocket carrying a record 104 satellites on Wednesday is progressing smoothly at the Sriharikota rocket port in Andhra Pradesh, officials said.

The rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is scheduled to blast off from Sriharikota, 80 km from here, at 9.28 a.m. on Wednesday with major cargo being the 714 kg Indian Cartosat-2 series satellite.

The co-passenger satellites comprise 101 nano satellites, one each from Israel, Kazakhstan, The Netherlands, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and 96 from US, as well as two nano satellites from India.

The total weight of all the satellites carried on-board by 44.4 metre tall PSLV rocket weighing 320 ton is about 1,378 kg. By 28th minute of the rocket's mission all the 104 satellites would be put into orbit.

IANS