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PSLV countdown begins

The T-52-hour (T minus 52) countdown for the launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C2) from the Sriharikota range commenced at 0652 hours this morning.

SHAR Director S Vasantha said that the launch would take place as scheduled at 1152 hours on May 26. "Everything is going well and the weather condition is also good," the director said.

The PSLV-C2, the fifth in the PSLV series and the second operational flight, carries the main payload of IRS-P4 and two foreign satellites -- the 107-kg Kitsat, a Korean satellite, and the 45-kg Tubsat, a German satellite.

This is the first time in the country's space history that a launch vehicle would be carrying more than one satellite.

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will arrive in Sriharikota tomorrow to witness the launch.

UNI

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