Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) informed early on Wednesday morning that countdown has begun for the launch of the GSLV-F10 EOS-03 mission. The geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV) is scheduled to launch the Earth observation satellite (EOS) – GISAT-1 at 5:43am tomorrow (i.e. on Thursday, August 12) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
In a tweet, ISRO wrote, “Countdown for the launch of GSLV-F10/EOS-03 mission commenced today at 0343Hrs (IST) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.” The post included a photo of the GSLV-F10 mission, with the rocket decked at the Sriharikota spaceport. The launch, which the country is eagerly looking forward to ahead of Independence Day, is, however, subject to weather conditions, the national space agency has warned. A 4 metre diameter Ogive-shaped payload fairing is being flown for the first time in this GSLV flight. This is the fourteenth flight of GSLV. The GSLV-F10 mission carries a geo-imaging satellite GISAT-1. Once in orbit around the Earth, it is expected to essentially be India’s “eye in the sky”, monitoring locations of interest while appearing motionless in space. The geosynchronous satellite will also help India monitor and respond to natural disasters and any other short-term events at an alarming pace. The satellite was originally set to be launched on March 5, 2020. But due to technical issues, the launch was postponed. The launch is now finally set for Thursday at 5.43 AM.
