(29 August 2007 8:30 pm)

MUMBAI: The launch of the communication satellite Insat 4CR has been postponed to 2 September due to bad weather conditions. The latest communication satellite was to be launched on 1 September in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has informed that due to severe thunderstorms during night-time in the last few days, the organisation lost about 14 hours of pre-launch activity.

Meanwhile, ISRO is launching an Israeli satellite called Polaris by a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, by the end of September.

The PSLV is a four-stage vehicle which is 44 metres tall and weighs 295 tonnes. In a core-alone configuration, it weighs about 230 tonnes minus the six strap-on booster motors.

It is a remote-sensing satellite that weighs about 300 kg. It can take pictures of the earth through cloud and rain, day and night.