All systems go for India`s Mars Orbiter Mission rocket

Chennai: It`s all systems go for the rocket that would carry India`s Mars Orbiter, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said Thursday.

India`s ambitious Rs.430-crore Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) is slated to blast off Nov 5 at 2.36 p.m. The rocket, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25), will carry the Mars Orbiter from the Sriharikota rocket port in Andhra Pradesh, around 80 km from here. While the countdown for the launch will begin Nov 3 morning, the launch rehearsal began at Sriharikota Thursday morning. During the rehearsal, every activity connected to the launch will be carried out except for pressing the rocket`s ignition button.