Countdown begins for PSLV-C31 launch

The 48-hour countdown for the launch of PSLV-C31 rocket carrying IRNSS-1E satellite commenced at Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, some 100 km from here, on Monday.

“The countdown started at 9.31 a.m. on Monday and the scheduled launch of the rocket is at 9.31 a.m. on Wednesday,” an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) spokesperson said.

IRNSS-1E is the



fifth of the seven-series Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS), which India is hoping to put in place by the end of this year. The regional navigation satellite system is aimed at providing accurate position information service to users in India as well as the region extending up to 1500 km from its boundary.

According to ISRO, the IRNSS would provide two types of services – Standard Positioning Service (SPS) to all users and Restricted Service (RS), an encrypted service provided to authorised users