ISRO Launches PSLV-XL From Sriharikota

10 July,Sriharikota

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday launched its PSLV-XL (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-XL variant) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.

According to ISRO, the total weight of five satellites is around 1,440kg, which is the heaviest undertaken by ISRO and its commercial wing ANTRIX.

The launch took place at 9.58 pm. The 62.5 hour countdown for the launch had started on Wednesday at 7.28 am.

This is the second launch by ISRO in 2015 with the previous one being the launch of navigation satellite-IRNSS-1D earlier in March. In terms of commercial launches, this is the first one this year.

ISRO has launched 40 satellites with its workhorse PSLV since 1999. This launch has taken the tally to 45

The highly versatile launch vehicle was decked with five satellites belonging to the UK firms including three identical earth observation satellites called DMC3 and two auxiliary satellites meant for technology demonstration.