India on Friday deployed a remote sensing Cartosat which was its 100 satellite in space and 30 other satellites, including 28 from six nations into the earth's orbit after a copybook launch from its spaceport in Sriharikota.
The 44.4-metre tall Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C40) roared into a clear sky after a perfect lift-off at 9.29 am following a 28-hour countdown.
"The micro satellite will be India's 100th satellite in space," ISRO Satellite Centre Director M. Annadurai had told IANS on Tuesday.
The 320-tonne rocket would eject the satellites one-by-one and deploy them into the earth's lower orbit 17 minutes and 18 seconds after the lift-off.
PM Modi congratulated ISRO on the successful launch.
The launch of the 100th satellite by @isro signifies both its glorious achievements, and also the bright future of India's space programme.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 12, 2018
"The 28-hour countdown began at 5:29am in the mission control at Sriharikota for the rocket launch at 9:28am on Friday," the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on its website.
The spaceport Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota High Altitude Range (SDSC-SHAR) is located about 80 km northeast of Chennai off the Bay of Bengal coast.
The 31 satellites with a combined weight of 1,323 kg have been integrated with the PSLV for deploying them in the earth's lower orbit after lift off.
Of the 31 satellites, three are Indian and 28 are from six countries: Canada, Finland, France, South Korea, UK and the US.
The Indian satellites include 710 kg Cartosat-2 series for Earth observation as the primary satellite of the mission, along with co-passenger payloads, including 100 kg micro satellite and a 10 kg nano satellite.
Among the 28 international co-passenger satellites, 19 belong to the US, five from South Korea and one each from Canada, France, UK and Finland.
Cartosat-2 series was the first to be separated from the rocket and injected into the sun synchronous orbit at 505km above the earth, followed by the 10 kg nano satellite and the 100 kg micro-sat in different orbits.
The Cartosat-2 series would orbit around the Earth for five years.
The micro satellite would be India's 100th satellite in space around the earth's orbit.
The first space mission in 2018 came four months after a similar rocket failed to deliver the country's eighth navigation satellite in the earth's lower orbit on August 31, 2017.
(With IANS inputs)