India on Wednesday launched its latest spy satellite, RISAT-2BR1, and nine foreign satellites through the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which is on its 50th mission.
RISAT-2BR1 is a radar imaging earth observation satellite developed by India's space agency Isro; it is meant for application in fields such as agriculture and disaster management support and has a mission life of five years.
The other satellites include six from the United States, and one each from Japan, Italy and Israel; their applications range from remote sensing to earth imaging. The launch vehicle, PSLV-C48, took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, at 3.25 pm.
RISAT-2BR1 and all nine customer satellites have been placed in orbit. Today's launch marks milestones other than PSLV's 50th mission: it is also the 75th launch vehicle mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, and the sixth launch of 2019.