Chennai, March 4 (IANS): The countdown for the Thursday evening launch of India's first state of the art earth observation satellite Geo Imaging Satellite-1 (GISAT-1) to be placed in geo-stationary orbit will begin at 3.43 p.m. on Wednesday, said a senior ISRO official.

Weighing 2,268 kg, the GISAT-1 will be carried by the three stage geo-synchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-F10).

According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the 51.70 metres tall and weighing about 420 tonne GSLV-F10 rocket is expected to lift off at 5.43 p.m. on March 5 from the second launch pad at India's rocket port at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

About 18 minutes into the flight the GSLV rocket will first place GISAT-1 in a Geo-synchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). From GTO, the satellite will be taken up further firing its on-board motors to geo-stationary orbit.

A satellite in geostationary orbit (about 36,000 km above earth) has an orbital period equal to earth's rotational period.

A four metre diameter Ogive shaped payload fairing (heat shield) is being flown for the first time in this GSLV-F10 flight. This is the fourteenth flight of the GSLV.

The Indian space agency said GISAT-1 will provide real time image of large area of region of interest at frequent intervals. The GISAT-1 will also enable quick monitoring of natural disasters, episodic events and any short term events.

The GISAT-1 will also provide spectral signatures for agriculture, forestry, mineralogy, disaster warning, cloud properties, snow, glaciers and oceanography.

The satellite will have payload imaging sensors of six band multi-spectral visible and near infra-red with 42 metres resolution; 158 bands hyper-spectral visible and near infra-red with 318 metres resolution and 256 bands hyper-spectral short wave infra-red with 191 metres resolution.