The Indian Space Research Organisation will launch PSLV-C52 orbiting an earth observation satellite on February 14 at 5.59am, the countdown of which began on Sunday morning. This will be the first launch mission of Isro this year. PSLV-C52 is designed to orbit the EOS-04, weighing 1710 kg, into a sun-synchronous polar orbit of 529 km, Isro said.
Here is all you need to know about the mission:
1. The PSLV-C52 will be launched from the First Launch Pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
2. EOS-04 is a Radar Imaging Satellite designed to provide high-quality images under all weather conditions for applications such as agriculture, forestry & plantations, soil moisture and hydrology and flood mapping, the space agency said.
3. The mission will also carry two small satellites as co-passengers: student satellite (INSPIREsat-1) from the Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology in association with the Laboratory of Atmospheric & Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and INS-2TD, a technology demonstrator satellite from Isro. INS-2TD is a precursor to INS-2B, which is an India-Bhutan Joint Satellite.
4. The 25-hour countdown ahead of the launch began at 4.29am on February 13.
{{/usCountry}}4. The 25-hour countdown ahead of the launch began at 4.29am on February 13.
{{/usCountry}}5. The launch will be live telecast on Isro's official YouTube channel.