Watch: Countdown for India’s 1st satellite launch of 2019 begins

Just before midnight on Thursday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch its 46th flight of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C44), to put into space Microsat-R, an imaging satellite and Kalamsat, a communication satellite developed by students, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.The launch at 11:37 pm is said to be unique as PSLV-C44 fourth stage will be re-used automatically to launch Kalamsat payload and Microsat-R satellite into space from the First Launch Pad (FLP). PSLV is a four-stage launch vehicle with alternating solid and liquid stages. The PSLV with two strap-on configuration has been identified for this mission and the configuration is designated as PSLV-DL. PSLV-C44 is the first mission of PSLV-DL and is a new variant of PSLV.