(28 April 2008 4:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) today at successfully launched 10 satellites at 9:23 am by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C9) at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. Out of the 10 satellites, eight belong to Germany and Canada.

The satellites put into orbit include Cartosat2A, mini satellite (IMS-1) and eight nano satellites. Six of the eight nanosatellites were clustered together and have the collective name NLS-4. The other two nanosatellites were NLS-5, built by University of Toronto, and RUBIN-8, built in Germany.

Isro chairman Madhavan Nair hailed the successful launch, describing it as a “historic moment” for the organisation. According to Nair, the PSLV-C9 travelled on the set trajectory and did not deviate even slightly. “This showed the launch was a perfect one,” he added.

Cartosat2A is a remote-sensing satellite fitted with a high-resolution camera which will supply data for maps precise enough to detail every house in the country. With a life of five years, Cartosat2A is the third in the ‘carto’ or mapping series.

Also on board the rocket were an Indian mini satellite to gather technological data which will be available for sale, and eight tiny research satellites belonging to research facilities in Canada, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.

The satellites were deployed in orbit within moments of each other and the entire operation lasted 20 minutes.