India put an Israeli-built spy satellite into orbit Monday, aimed at boosting its defence surveillance capabilities in the aftermath of the Mumbai militant attacks. The satellite, which can see through clouds and carry out day-and-night all-weather imaging, has been a long-standing demand of the Indian military.
Its acquisition was fast-tracked after the November 26-29 Mumbai siege in which 10 gunmen killed 165 people. The 300 kilogram (650 pound) RISAT 2 was launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket from the Sriharikota launch site, 90 kilometres (56 miles) north of the southern city of Chennai.
"It has been successfully placed in the orbit 20 minutes after lift-off this morning," G. Padmanabhan, a scientist from India's Space Research Organisation, told AFP by phone. Another senior scientist and member of the Space Commission, Roddam Narasimhaiah, told AFP images from the new satellite, 550 kilometres above the planet, would show "any movement on the surface of the earth."