The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch a communications satellite, CMS-01, on board the PSLV-C50 from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR on Thursday. The launch is scheduled to take place at 3.41 p.m. and the 25-hour countdown for the launch began at 2.21 p.m. on Wednesday.
CMS-01 is a communications satellite envisaged for providing services in extended C Band of the frequency spectrum and its coverage will include the Indian mainland, and the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands, ISRO said.The satellite is expected to have a life of more than seven years.
CMS-01 is the 42nd communication satellite of India and the PSLV on its 52nd mission has been configured in its ‘XL’ mode with 6 strap-on motors. The satellite is expected to be placed into its orbit around 20 minutes after lift-off. On November 7, ISRO had placed into orbit India’s Earth Observation Satellite, EOS-01, and nine other customer satellites.
