RISAT-2B (Radar Imaging Satellite-2B), an earth observation satellite, was placed into orbit early on Wednesday by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro).
It was launched at 5:30 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, off the southern Andhra coast, about 100 km from here. About 15 minutes into flight, the rocket placed RISAT-2B into orbit.
Isro Chairman K Sivan said: “This is an important mission for India. It is an excellent satellite, with hi-fi earth observation (capabilities).”
Isro says the application would help agriculture and forestry, and also support disaster management. Experts say the satellite would also be used for military surveillance. The life is around five years. It can take pictures even under cloudy conditions. An earlier one, RISAT-2, has been used to monitor activities in camps across the border in Pakistan.