Countdown begins for GSLV-F05 launch
The 29-hour countdown for the launch of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)’s GSLV-F05 rocket, carrying the INSAT-3DR advanced weather satellite, is scheduled to commence at 11.10 a.m. on Wednesday at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
According to the national space agency, the Mission Readiness Review Committee and the Launch Authorisation Board have cleared the countdown.
Liftoff on Thursday
As per the schedule, the GSLV-F05 rocket will lift off from the Second Launch Pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 4.10 p.m. on Thursday.
The rocket, with the indigenously developed cryogenic upper stage as its fourth stage, would place the satellite, weighing 2,211-kg in the Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO).
GSLV-F05 would be the tenth GSLV flight.
On being placed in the intended orbit, INSAT-3DR would use its own propulsion system to reach its final geosynchronous orbital home and will be stationed at 74 deg East longitude, ISRO said.
The advanced weather satelliteis expected to provide a variety of meteorological services to the country.
“GSLV-F05 vehicle is configured with all its three stages including the CUS similar to the ones successfully flown during the previous GSLV-D5 and D6 missions in January 2014 and August 2015,” ISRO added.
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