The country's space programme witnessed a historic milestone on Sunday with the launch of two foreign satellites by ISRO's workhorse PSLV rocket in the agency's 100th mission from the spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, about 110 km from Chennai.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh witnessed the launch of PSLV C-21, that carried French advanced remote sensing satellite, the 720 kg SPOT-6 and its 15kg Japanese micro satellite PROITERES. The mission is without any Indian satellite.
From the time of its humble beginnings when it launched the indigenous 'Aryabhatta' in Russia on April 19, 1975, it has been a long and successful odyssey for ISRO.
SPOT-6 is the biggest commercial lift so far since India forayed into the money-spinning commercial satellite launch services after 350kg Agile of Italy was put in orbit in 2007 by PSLV. Twelve other foreign commercial satellites were less than 300 kg.
France's five earlier SPOT satellites were launched by European Araine rocket.
SPOT-6, built by ASTRIUM SAS,a subsidiary of EADS, France, is an earth observation satellite, while PROITERES, developed by students and faculty of Osaka Institute of Technology, will study Kansai region of Japanese island of Honshu.
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