An Indian rocket successfully placed 10 satellites, including eight non-Indian satellites, into orbit on Monday, setting a world record, officials and media reports said. The Indian Space Research Organization's latest satellite launch Vehicle, the PSLV-C9, blasted off at 9:23 am (0353 GMT) from the Agency's main launch station, the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, off the country's eastern coast and 90 kilometers north of Chennai city, DPA reported. Fourteen minutes after the blast-off, the PSLV, or Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, released the satellites into orbit, one after another, in a timed sequence without any collision, ISRO scientists said. The PSLV carried India's latest remote sensing satellite, the Cartosat-2A, along with an Indian mini-satellite and eight "nano" satellites developed by foreign research institutions, including those from Germany and Canada. The live broadcast on the state-run Doordarshan TV showed ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair congratulating the scientists after the successful launch. "We could not detect even the slightest deviation from the designated trajectory. So that shows that the mission was perfect and the spacecraft were delivered on dot," an effusive Nair told reporters. "For ISRO it is a historic moment because for the first time 10 satellites were put in orbit in a single launch. I am extremely proud of the entire team," he said.
