An official of Indian Space Research Organisation said that the launch window for the satellite was between September 20 and 25.

Oceansat 2 is expected to provide India with information about the state of the Indian Ocean, including better data about the movement of the monsoon winds vital to Indian agriculture.

It will be launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), an indigenously developed launch system, into a sun-synchronous orbit 720 km above the earth, the official said on phone from ISRO's launch centre at Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh), 70 km from here.

The PSLV will also carry a number of small "nano" satellites, the official said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

"The PSLV is now standing tall at the launch pad as the integration of the four-stage rocket is being completed," the official said, adding that tests on the satellite were also on.

Since the first Indian satellite, Aryabhatta, was launched in 1975, India has developed a space program which is based on earth-observation satellite system and also now moved into lunar exploration and inter-planetary fields.

India is also one of the few countries who have developed their own satellite launch systems.

–- Indo-Asian News Service