<p> India has built a Mars orbiter for launch between October and November from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, a senior space agency official said Wednesday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“The spacecraft for our maiden Mars mission is ready for launch between Oct 21 and Nov 19 on board a rocket with five instruments to conduct various experiments while orbiting the red planet after a nine-month voyage," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) satellite centre director S.K. Shivkumar told reporters at a preview of the orbiter here.<br /><br />The country’s tryst with the red planet will cost the state-run ISRO Rs.450 crore, including Rs.150 crore for the spacecraft, Rs.110 crore for the rocket and Rs.190 crore to augment the ground stations for the mission’s operations. <br /><br />“The spacecraft has been built in a record 12 months to orbit around Mars for at least six months at a distance of 375km from its surface and 80,000 km when away elliptically,” Mars orbiter mission project director S. Arunan said. <br /><br />After final configuration and testing, the 1,340 kg spacecraft (at lift-off) will be shipped to the spaceport Sep 27 for integrating it with the 350-tonne rocket, which is an extended version of the space agency’s workhorse-polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV-XL).<br /><br />“The launch date and timing of lift-off will be decided during the one-month window, based on weather conditions and other critical parameters,” Arunan said.</p>
<p> India has built a Mars orbiter for launch between October and November from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, a senior space agency official said Wednesday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>“The spacecraft for our maiden Mars mission is ready for launch between Oct 21 and Nov 19 on board a rocket with five instruments to conduct various experiments while orbiting the red planet after a nine-month voyage," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) satellite centre director S.K. Shivkumar told reporters at a preview of the orbiter here.<br /><br />The country’s tryst with the red planet will cost the state-run ISRO Rs.450 crore, including Rs.150 crore for the spacecraft, Rs.110 crore for the rocket and Rs.190 crore to augment the ground stations for the mission’s operations. <br /><br />“The spacecraft has been built in a record 12 months to orbit around Mars for at least six months at a distance of 375km from its surface and 80,000 km when away elliptically,” Mars orbiter mission project director S. Arunan said. <br /><br />After final configuration and testing, the 1,340 kg spacecraft (at lift-off) will be shipped to the spaceport Sep 27 for integrating it with the 350-tonne rocket, which is an extended version of the space agency’s workhorse-polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV-XL).<br /><br />“The launch date and timing of lift-off will be decided during the one-month window, based on weather conditions and other critical parameters,” Arunan said.</p>