India, July 29 -- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced that the countdown for the much-anticipated launch of NISAR - the first Indo-US joint Earth observation satellite - will begin at 2:10 pm today, ahead of its scheduled lift-off at 5:40 pm on July 30 from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

The 27.5-hour countdown will include fuel loading and extensive system checks for the launch vehicle, GSLV-F16, which will carry the 2,393 kg NISAR satellite into a 747 km Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit (SSO). The launch marks the first time a GSLV rocket is being used to deliver a satellite into this type of orbit.

Developed jointly by NASA and ISRO at an estimated cost of $1.5 billion, NISAR (NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) is a...