India will soon reach major space milestone

India will reach another significant space milestone in about a fortnight, when for the first time an indigenous launch vehicle will put a major remote sensing satellite into orbit.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C1 will launch the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite, IRS-1D from the Sriharikota launch site in Andhra Pradesh between September 29 and October 27.

The IRS-1D is similar to its predecessor IRS-1C launched in December 1995 by a Russian launch vehicle, Molniya. The earlier satellites -- the IRS-1A and the IRS-1B -- were also launched by Soviet launchers.

The PSLV had become operational after two consecutive successful developmental test flights in October 1994 and March 1996. The IRS-P2 and the IRS-P3 satellites were placed in the intended polar orbits by these launchers.

The PSLV-C1's assembly in the mobile service tower commenced on July 20 and the entire vehicle was stacked by September 8. The IRS-1D, after assembly and testing in Bangalore, reached Sriharikota on September 1 and final checks on the spacecraft were in progress.

The remaining activities, including vehicle-level checks, mating of the satellite with the launch vehicle and launch rehearsals, will be completed by September 26.

UNI