ISRO to launch Five British satellites
One Wednesday morning, the countdown for the July 10th rocket launch that is set to carry 5 British satellites has begun by the Indian space agency on Wednesday morning. The Indian space research Organisation (ISRO) has started the 62 hours and 30 minutes counting for the July 10th night launch of rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) XL variant began. The countdown began at 7.28 a.m. on Wednesday.
The plan has been set to launch the rocket at 9.58 p.m. on July 10 from the first launch pad. The launch will consist of 5 satellites with a combined weight of 1,440 kg, for an undisclosed fee. India has launched forty satellites of other countries till date since 1999. The successful launch of the 5 British satellites would take the tally to forty five. The PSLV is 44.4 metre tall and has a weight of 320 tonnes. It is a four stage/engine rocket with six strap on motors for additional thrust throughout the initial phase of the flight.
Solid fuel is used in the first and third stages and they are cast prepared. However, the second and fourth stages are powered by liquid fuel which will be filled during the countdown. Apart from fuelling up the engines, all the systems would be checked and rechecked throughout the countdown. According to ISRO, this is the heaviest commercial luggage carried by a PSLV rocket until date.
Image Credit: Carolina Ödman / CC BY-SA 2.0
Image Reference: https://www.flickr.com/photos/carolune/1470853745/
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