Countdown for PSLV C16 launch starts today

The countdown to the April 20 launch of India's latest remote sensing satellite Resourcesat-2 and two small satellites aboard the PSLV C16 launch vehicle from the Sriharikota spaceport will begin on Monday.

The Launch Authorisation Board for the mission gave its go-ahead at its meeting at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, yesterday. The 54-hour-long countdown will start at 4.12 am tomorrow.

Keeping Resourcesat company aboard the PSLV will be the 92-kg Youthsat, an Indo-Russian satellite for stellar and atmospheric studies, and the 106 kg X-SAT, a microsatellite for imaging applications built by the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

The LAB has cleared the launch of PSLV-C16 for 10.12 am on Wednesday after reviewing readiness of the launch vehicle, spacecraft systems and ground stations, an Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) statement said today.

The Isro-built 1,206-kg Resourcesat-2 is an advanced remote-sensing satellite to facilitate study and management of natural resources. During the countdown, propellant-filling operations of the second stage (PS2) and fourth stage (PS4) of the launch vehicle will be carried out, Isro said.

Mandatory checks on the launch vehicle and spacecraft, including charging of batteries and pressurisation of propellant tanks, will also be performed, besides checking the readiness of launch infrastructure and communication networks.