President Mukherjee, PM Modi hail ISRO for historic PSLV launch

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched its satellite SCATSAT-1 for ocean and weather related studies from Sriharikota today.

Carrying the 377 kg SCATSAT-1 and seven other satellites, India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C35, lifted off from ISRO's first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 9.12 AM.

Lauding ISRO for the historic feat, President Pranab Mukherjee congratulated the organisation.

Echoing similar sentiments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that this was a moment of immense joy & pride for India.

"Our space scientists keep scripting history. Their innovative zeal has touched the lives of 125 crore Indians & made India proud worldwide," he said in a tweet.

This was the first mission of PSLV in which it launched its payloads into two different orbits. The co-passenger satellites were from the US, Canada and Algeria besides from Indian Universities.

ISRO's SCATSAT-1 can generate accurate data on wind patterns over the ocean surface. It is a continuity mission for the Oceansat-2, which has exhausted its operational life. The expected lifespan of SCATSAT-1 is expected to be five years.

The seven other co-passengers in today's mission included three small satellites from Algeria meant for earth observation, remote sensing and technology demonstration, a commercial high resolution imaging micro-satellite of an US agency, the nano-satellite NLS-19 of Canada to experiment on reduction of space debris and two nano-satellites of IIT, Bombay and the PES University, Bengaluru.