|
Chennai: Countdown
for the Friday evening launch of Indian rocket Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle-C17 (PSLV-C17), carrying a communication satellite,
started at 11.48 a.m. Wednesday at the Sriharikota rocket port,
around 80 km from here.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) said the Launch Authorisation Board (LAB)
cleared the rocket launch Tuesday and the 53-hour countdown
started Wednesday morning. The launch time is 4.48 p.m. Friday.
During the countdown, filling of liquid propellant for the
rocket's second and fourth stages/engines will be carried out. It
is carrying a communications satellite GSAT-12.
PSLV-C17 rocket, standing 44 metres tall, is a four-stage (engine)
rocket powered by solid and liquid propellants alternatively.
The first and third stages are fired by solid propellant and the
second and fourth stages are fired by liquid propellant.
ISRO officials told IANS the solid fuel stages are cast ready
while the liquid propellant will be filled hours before the
blast-off.
During the countdown, mandatory checks on the rocket and the
satellite, including charging of batteries and pressurisation of
propellant tanks, will be performed.
Readiness of various ground systems such as tracking radar systems
and communication networks will also be checked, ISRO said.
The GSAT-12 satellite weighs 1,410 kg at lift-off, has 12 extended
c-band transponders - automatic receivers and transmitters for
communication and broadcast of signals.
The satellite is expected to serve the Very Small Aperture
Terminal (VSAT) sector. VSATs are used to transmit data like point
of sale transactions or to provide satellite internet access and
others.
|
Comments
|
Quick links