The countdown has commenced for the launch of PSLV-C19 launch vehicle carrying India's first Radar Imaging Satellite called RISAT-1. The Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, started the 71 hour countdown at 6.47 am today. An Indian Space Research Organisation release says that the launch will be on the 26th of this month at 5.45 am. During the Countdown, propellant-filling operations of the liquid propellant second stage and fourth stage of the launch vehicle will be carried out.

The ISRO sources said that RISAT 1 satellite, fitted with Synthetic Aperture Radar, can take pictures of the earth at all times, through rain, sun, clouds, fog and cyclones. The pictures from RISAT-1 would be used to estimate the crop yields. The satellite's images can also be used for disaster management during cyclones and floods, to assess the area inundated. RISAT-1's life-span is five years.