When Isro launches Risat-1 (radar imaging satellite) into polar orbit, at an altitude of 480 km, from Sriharikota at 5.45 am Thursday, Tamil Nadu will have a special reason to cheer.
Director of the project N. Valarmathi, who operates from the command centre in Bengaluru, hails from Coimbatore.
The 71-hour countdown for the launch of Risat-1, the heaviest remote-sensing satellite to be lifted by Isro workhorse PSLV-C19, commenced at 6.47 am Monday. This is the first time Isro is launching its own Risat.
Ms Valarmathi is the second space scientist from Coimbatore after Mayilsamy Annadurai, who headed India’s first moon mission Chandrayaan-1.
As project director, she is responsible for delivery and functioning of the 1,858-kg Risat.
Isro began the countdown after the launch authorisation board, which met Saturday at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, about 100 km from Chennai, cleared the launch of PSLV-C19/Risat-1 mission, a release said.
“During the countdown, propellant-filling operations of liquid propellant second stage and fourth stage of the launch vehicle will be carried out. Besides, mandatory checks on the launch vehicle and spacecraft will be carried out,” it said, adding, “The scientists will also charge batteries and pressure propellant tanks on board the satellite. Readiness of various ground systems, such as tracking radars and communication networks, will also be checked.”