The 24-hour countdown for the launch of over 4,000 kg communication satellite CMS-03 commenced at this spaceport on Saturday, ISRO said.

The satellite, weighing about 4,410 kg, will be the heaviest to be launched from the Indian soil and into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO), the space agency said.

The spacecraft will travel onboard a LVM3-M5 rocket, dubbed as 'Bahubali' for its heavylift capability.

The launch vehicle has been fully assembled and integrated with the spacecraft and it has been moved to the second launch pad here for taking up pre-launch operations, the Bengaluru-headquartered space agency said on Saturday.

Later in a social media post, ISRO said, "Countdown commences!! Final preparations complete and the countdown for LVM3-M5 (mission) has officially begun at Sati

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