The 230-ton Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C12) was launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota Island in the Bay of Bengal.
The rocket carried a RISAT-2 satellite, which was developed by ISRO in association with Israel Aerospace Industries and has the capability to take images of the Earth during day and night, as well as in cloudy conditions.
Some experts believe that fitting the satellite with an Israeli-built advanced radar will allow both India and Israel to use the satellite for intelligence-gathering purposes.
Israel and India signed in 2004 a space cooperation agreement that involves India's participation in a variety of Israeli military satellite projects.
In this mission, in addition to the RISAT-2, PSLV also orbited a 40-kg ANUSAT micro satellite. This is the first experimental communication satellite to be built by Indian students under the overall guidance of ISRO.
The current launch was the fourteenth consecutive success for PSLV launch vehicles, which have already placed a total of 16 Indian satellites and 16 foreign satellites into various orbits.
