PM Modi to witness ISRO PSLV C23 launch on Monday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to witness the launch lift off of the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO's) PSLV C23 on Monday morning.

According to reports, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) will carry a French Earth observation satellite along with four other satellites from Singapore, Canada and Germany on June 30 from the Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh. The countdown for the launch began on Saturday, and is progressing normally.

According to reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is known to be a space buff and is expected to witness the historic lift-off of the 230-ton rocket.

This will be the fourth fully commercial launch of the PSLV that is likely to establish to the world India's potential of competing in the global multi-billion dollar lucrative commercial space launch market.

The launch was originally fixed for 9.49 a.m. on Monday, but has been rescheduled for 9.52 a.m. due to the probability of space debris movement during the launch window.

ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan was quoted by a television channel, as saying that the PSLV mission would be used to launch the SPOT-7 satellite, an advanced Earth observation satellite built by Airbus Defence and Space, France.

It is expected that during his first visit to the spaceport at Sriharikota, Prime Minister Modi will be briefed on many novel Indian developments.