The 51-hour countdown for the 17th flight launch of Indian space agency's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C 15 from Sriharikota spaceport is expected to begin on Saturday morning. Preparations were in full swing for the launch of the PSLV-C-15 on July 12. All the parameters for the launch were doing well and the 51-hour countdown was expected to start at 6 am on Saturday, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISR0) officials said. "The rocket will put into orbit five satellites – remote sensing satellite Cartosat-2B from India, Alsat from Algeria, two nano satellites from Canada and Switzerland, and a pico (very small) satellite called Studsat built by seven engineering students in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka", ISRO spokesmen, Mr S. Satish, told PTI.
The PSLV launch was to take place on May 9 last but was postponed because of a drop in the pressure in the vehicle's second stage. This would be the first mission by ISRO after the failure of India's ambitious home-made cryogenic engine powered GSLV-D3 in April last. He said, "In this flight, PSLV will place the 694 kg Cartosat-2B and four auxiliary payloads in a 630 km Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO)". The four-stage vehicle had been fully assembled in its launch pad and the mating with Cartosat-2B and other satellites had been completed. He said the satellite would help in urban planning and infrastructure development such as laying ring-roads and rerouting of highways. "Cartosat-2B carries a panchromatic camera similar to that of its predecessors - Cartosat-2 and 2A", he said adding it was capable of imaging a swath (geographical strip of land) of 9.6 km with a resolution of 0.8 metre.