Spaceflight

Assembly of the augmented version of the Indian Space Research Organisation Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle has begun for the expected September launch of the country's Chandaryaan-1 mission from its Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota island on India's east coast.

The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft will have a mass of 590kg (1,300lb) in its final low lunar orbit of 100km (62 miles). The PSLV variant that will launch it will have a mass of about 316,000kg, 21,000kg more than the standard PSLV's 295,000kg.

The augmented PSLV differs from the standard version because it has more powerful, heavier solid rocket boosters. At 13.5m (44ft) long the new boosters use 12,400kg of solid propellant compared with the previous boosters, which had 9,000kg.