MUMBAI: The second developmental flight of India's prestigious Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D2) was launched succesfully at (4:58 pm) IST today.
The final countdown went as per schedule, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation. "The final countdown which started at 01:58 IST (T minus 39 hrs) on Wednesday is progressing smoothly and the launch is expected to take place as scheduled if everything goes well during the remaining duration of the countdown," an ISRO spokesman had told the Press Trust of India at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota, about 100km from Chennai earlier today.
GSLV-D2 is carrying 1800 kg GSAT-2, a technology experiment satellite which will be injected into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit, about 17 minutes after liftoff.