India today successfully launched weather observation satellite Cartosat 2 Series and 29 other spacecraft onboard its dependable Polar rocket from here. The successful orbiting of the satellites by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV C-40 comes four months after the Indian space Research Organisation’s mission to launch backup navigation spacecraft IRNSS-1H onboard PSLV-39 ended in a rare failure.

A jubilant ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar announced that the Cartosat 2 Series satellite, the seventh in the series, a nano satellite and 28 commercial payloads were successfully injected into the orbit one by one by the PSLV C-40, in the space of about 17.33 minutes since lift-off. A micro satellite of India would be orbited after about 90 minutes following the re-ignition of the fourth stage, Kumar said.

Global client satellites

International customer satellites are three micro and 25 nano-satellites from six countries -- Canada, Finland, France, Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Earlier, at the end of the 28-hours countdown, the 44.4 metre tall PSLV-C40 in its 42nd flight, lifted off at 9.29 am and soared into a cloudy sky from the first launch pad.

The opening mission of 2018 was considered crucial for ISRO as the previous PSLV launch came as a setback to scientists as the backup navigation satellite IRNSS-1H could not be placed in orbit following a snag in the final leg of the PSLV-C39 mission in August last year.

The heat shield of the rocket did not separate in the final leg of the launch sequence, trapping the satellite in the fourth stage of the rocket.

New Year gift

A visibly relieved Kiran Kumar, on his final mission as the chief of the space agency, said he was happy to provide Cartosat 2 Series as a New Year gift for the country.

“ISRO is starting 2018 with the successful launch... all customer satellites (besides Cartosat and nanosat) released and the microast after one hour. So far Cartosat performance is satisfactory,” he said at the mission control room.

Referring to the previous launch, he said it had heat shield problem and an ISRO committee had addressed it and taken steps to ensure the vehicle was ‘robust’.</s>Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched its historic 100th Satellite PSLV-C40/ CARTOSAT-2 SERIES from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh on Friday. The 30 other satellites include two satellites from India and 28 others from six countries United States, Canada, Finland, France, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. The mission is unique one with satellites being launched in two orbits.</s>Sriharikota: In a landmark move, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) this morning successfully sent up a rocket carrying India’s 100th satellite along with 30 others.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) lifted off at 9.29 am from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

The 30 other satellites include two other satellites from India and 28 satellites from six countries — Canada, Finland, France, Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The 44.4-metre tall rocket lifted off from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota.

President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated ISRO scientists on the successful launch of PSLV-C40.

The last launch of IRNSS-1H – India’s first privately built satellite — on August 31 last year had failed because of a freak accident. This is the 42nd flight of the PSLV.</s>New Delhi (Sputnik) — The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully launched the country's 100th satellite — the advanced remote sensing "Cartosat-2" from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota on Friday.

READ MORE: Aiming High: India Looks at More Satellite Launches With New Facility From 2018

"During the last PSLV launch we had problems, today what has happened proves that the problem was properly addressed and rectified. Happy to give this new year gift to the country," AS Kiran, ISRO chairman said after the launch. However, he also added that after 100 successes there can still be failures. "We should learn from past mistakes. We have made rigorous changes after the failure."

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle — PSLV-C40 is also carrying a nano-satellite and a micro-satellite both termed as "technology demonstrators indicating significant stride towards miniaturization" by ISRO. The foreign payloads include 3 microsatellites and 25 nano-satellites from Canada, Finland, France, Republic of Korea, UK and USA.

The satellites will be placed into two orbits- thirty of the satellites in an orbit of 550 km, and one 359-km above the Earth.</s>NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India launched its 100th satellite on Friday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to project the country as a global low-cost provider of services in space.

A total of 31 small satellites were launched into space on Friday. More than half of the micro and nano satellites were for the Unites States, and the remainder India, Canada, Finland, France, South Korea and the United Kingdom.

“The launch of the 100th satellite by @isro signifies both its glorious achievements and also the bright future of India’s space program,” Modi said on Twitter.

India’s space program has a budget of around $4 billion and Modi’s government hopes the latest launches will improve its prospects of winning a larger share of the more than $300 billion global space industry.

Modi’s government has been promoting a domestic space program as a demonstration of low-cost technology and last February launched 104 satellites in a single mission, most of them for foreign customers.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) used its workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C40), part of an advanced remote sensing satellite Cartosat-2 series or “eye in the sky”, for the Friday launch from Sriharikota in southern Andhra Pradesh state at 9.28 a.m. (3:58 GMT).

The rocket weighs about 1,323 kgs, said a senior official at state-run ISRO, who did not wish to be named.

India will use its latest satellites for better border surveillance and obtaining high resolution images of the earth.

“PSLV-C40 is a highly sophisticated surveillance tool to keep an eye on Indian borders and will help the government track progress of infrastructure projects,” said Pallava Bagla, a science writer and co-author of “Reaching for the Stars: India’s Journey to Mars.”

Two scientists at ISRO said images collected by the satellites will be used by the Indian security agencies to track military activities in neighboring Pakistan, China, Bangladesh Sri Lanka and Nepal.</s>NEW DELHI - India launched its 100th indigenously made satellite on Friday (Jan 12) as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to project the country as a global low-cost provider of services in space.

India has carried out dozens of satellite launches since 1999, carrying more than 200 satellites for countries around the globe, according to data from the Indian Space Research Organisation. Last February, ISRO launched 104 satellites in a single mission, most of them for foreign customers.

Friday's launch lifted a total of 31 small satellites into space. More than half of the micro and nano satellites were for the United States, and the remainder for India, Canada, Finland, France, South Korea and the United Kingdom, Reuters reported.

"The launch of the 100th satellite by @isro signifies both its glorious achievements and also the bright future of India's space programme," Modi said on Twitter.

India's space programme has a budget of around US$4 billion (S$5.3 billion) and Modi's government hopes the latest launches will improve its prospects of winning a larger share of the more than US$300 billion global space industry.

ISRO used its workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C40), part of an advanced remote sensing satellite Cartosat-2 series or "eye in the sky", for the Friday launch from Sriharikota in southern Andhra Pradesh state at 9.28 am (11.58am Singapore time).

The rocket weighs about 1,323kg, said a senior official at state-run ISRO, who did not wish to be named, Reuters said.

India will use its latest satellites for better border surveillance and obtaining high resolution images of the earth.

"PSLV-C40 is a highly sophisticated surveillance tool to keep an eye on Indian borders and will help the government track progress of infrastructure projects," Reuters quoted Pallava Bagla, a science writer and co-author of "Reaching for the Stars: India's Journey to Mars."

Two scientists at ISRO said images collected by the satellites will be used by the Indian security agencies to track military activities in neighbouring Pakistan, China, Bangladesh Sri Lanka and Nepal, Reuters said.</s>India successfully launched its 100th satellite 'Cartosat-2 Series' from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota Island on Friday.

For the mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) used PSLV-C40 launch vehicle, which is carrying 31 satellites, including three from India and 28 from six other countries.

The weather observation 'Cartosat-2 Series' satellite and 29 others will be inserted into a 505-kilometre sun-synchronous orbit after about seventeen and a half minutes since its liftoff.

Later, the payload Microsat developed by the ISRO will be taken down to a lower orbit at 359-kilometre height and launched using the 'multiple engine switch-on' method. This satellite is the seventh remote sensing satellite in its series and has the mission life of five years. Its uses include monitoring urban and rural applications, coastal land use regulation, managing services like road networks and water distribution, detecting changes in geographical features and creation of land use maps. The flight is the first since the setback suffered by the PSLV in August last and is set to demonstrate that the workhorse rocket is back in the game for reliable satellite launches in the low earth and polar orbits. (ANI)</s>India is now truly a space power after it successfully sent its 100th satellite into space to bolster its border security.

While NASA attracts much of the world’s attention when it comes to national programmes for space exploration, a number of countries are rapidly developing their own agencies, with aims of not only regularly sending spacecraft into orbit, but further into deep space.

One such agency is the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which confirmed that it has achieved a major milestone: its 100th satellite in space.

The news was confirmed by the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, on Twitter, who described it as a “glorious achievement” for India.

This is part of his efforts to bolster ISRO to attract business from private and other national partners in an industry worth approximately $300bn.

With a budget of $4bn, the agency has pivoted to become a potential location for low-cost space flights, bringing it in competition with a number of private enterprises, such as SpaceX, Blue Origin and the United Launch Alliance.

According to Reuters, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C40) launched with its Indian-built payload from Sriharikota in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh early this morning (12 January).

The satellite is part of India’s Cartosat-2 series, which will be used to collect thousands of images of its borders to bolster its security.

These images will be shared with India’s security agency to track any military activity on its borders as the country continues to dispute politically over their actual definition, particularly with Pakistan and China.

A total of 31 other satellites were included in the payload, many of which are categorised as microsatellites from a number of different nations. These included Canada, Finland, France, South Korea, the UK and the US.

In February of last year, ISRO achieved a record-breaking payload for a single rocket launch with 104 satellites from various nations, trebling the previous record of 37 achieved by Russian space agency Roscosmos.</s>NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for its successful launch of 100th satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, on Friday.

Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said it signifies the space agency's achievements and the bright future of the country's space programme.

"My heartiest congratulations to @isro and its scientists on the successful launch of PSLV today. This success in the New Year will bring benefits of the country’s rapid strides in space technology to our citizens, farmers, fishermen etc. The launch of the 100th satellite by @isro signifies both its glorious achievements, and also the bright future of India’s space programme," Modi said in a tweet.

"Benefits of India’s success are available to our partners! Out of the 31 Satellites, 28 belonging to 6 other countries are carried by today’s launch," he added.

President Ram Nath Kovind too hailed that ISRO's 100th satellite launch calling it a moment of pride for every Indian.

"Launch of India’s 100th satellite Cartosat-2, along with two co-passenger satellites as well as 28 satellites of six friendly countries, is a moment of pride for every Indian. Congratulations to @isro team of exceptional scientists. A milestone for our country #PresidentKovind," he tweeted.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C40), which was undertaking its 42nd mission, hosted the 'Cartosat-2', a weather observation satellite and 30 other satellites — 28 of which belonged to other countries.

The co-passenger satellites comprise one Microsatellite and one Nanosatellite from India as well as 3 Microsatellites and 25 Nanosatellites from six countries, namely, Canada, Finland, France, Republic of Korea, UK and USA.

The total weight of all the 31 satellites carried onboard PSLV-C40 is about 1323 kg.

The 28 International customer satellites are being launched as part of the commercial arrangements between Antrix Corporation Limited (Antrix), a Government of India company under Department of Space (DOS), the commercial arm of ISRO and the International customers.

Of the total number of satellites carried by PSLV-C40, 30 satellites will be launched into a 505 kms polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).</s>The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch its 100th satellite at 9.29 am on Friday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C40), which is undertaking its 42nd mission, will carry ‘Cartosat-2’, a weather observation satellite and 30 other satellites. The launch is expected to take two hours and 21 seconds.

This is the space agency’s first mission in 2018, and its first since the unsuccessful launch of IRNSS-1H in August last year. Who is ISRO’s new chief K Sivan?

7.40 am: There’s a lot of talk around today’s launch as its the first since ISRO’s IRNSS-1H’s unsuccessful mission on August 31, 2017. The rocket’s shield had failed to separate, due to which the satellite could not launch. The August mission was significant as it would have introduced Navigation with Indian Constellation, or NavIC, in turn providing accurate information services within Indian territory. Read more here.

7.30 am: In its first mission this year, ISRO is launching its 100th satellite today. Follow our live blog for real-time updates.

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The Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launches India’s 100th satellite and 30 other satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.