ISRO to launch two foreign satellites into orbit today

The PSLV rocket will blast off from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday at 10.07 PM.

Chennai, Sep 15: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch two foreign satellites - NovaSAR and S1-4 - onboard its workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C42 (PSLV) on Sunday.

The two satellites, together weighing over 800 kilograms, belong to Surrey Satellite Technologies Ltd (SSTL), UK. The PSLV rocket will blast off from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on Sunday at 10.07 PM.

The mission is a commercial arrangement between the company and Antrix Corporation Limited, which is the commercial wing of ISRO.

Preparations for launch

The 33-hour countdown for the launch of two earth observation satellites on-board PSLV from the space port of Sriharikota began at 1.08 PM on Saturday.

ISRO to launch two foreign satellites

The foreign satellites, meant for forest mapping and flood and disaster monitoring, among other uses, would be released into sun synchronous orbit at a height of 583 km, a PTI report said.

PSLV assembly

They have been developed by Surrey Satellite Technologies Limited, United Kingdom. This would be the 44th flight of the PSLV and the third launch by ISRO this year.

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

In January, PSLV-C40 launched India's weather observation satellite Cartosat 2 Series and PSLV-C41 launched IRNSS - 1I navigation satellite in April.

(Images courtesy - ANI/Twitter)

OneIndia News with PTI inputs