Countdown for PSLV-C16 mission on

The stage has been set for the launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C16) from the first launch pad at Sriharikota on April 20 at 10.12 a.m. The PSLV-C16 will put in orbit three satellites — India's Resourcesat-2, an Indo-Russian satellite called Youthsat and a micro-satellite named X-Sat from the Nangyang Technological University of Singapore.

• The Launch Authorisation Board (LAB), which met at Sriharikota, cleared the rocket's lift-off.
• Resourcesat-2, built by ISRO, is the primary satellite in this mission. It is an advanced remote-sensing satellite, weighing 1,206 kg. An important feature of Resourcesat-2 is that it carries three cameras — with high, medium and coarse resolutions — on a single platform. The images taken by the cameras will be useful for estimating the health of crops, locating ground water, keeping a surveillance on deforestation, and monitoring the level of water in reservoirs and lakes and the snow-melt in the Himalayas and the consequent receipt of water in the rivers.
• The 92-kg Youthsat has been built by India and Russia, with one payload from Russia and two from ISRO. The satellite will be used for stellar and atmospheric studies, including watching the activities in the sun and their effect on the earth's upper atmosphere. The 106-kg X-Sat will be used for imaging applications.