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| India launches Israeli satellite |
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Tuesday, January 22, 2008
BANGALORE: India successfully placed an Israeli spy satellite into orbit on Monday, an official at the Sriharikota space station in southern India said after a launch carried out under a veil of secrecy. The launch of the Tecsar satellite, sometimes referred to as the Polaris, was carried out in clear weather at 9:15 am local time (0345 GMT), space centre official S.V. Ramanayya said.
The satellite, the second commercial mission for another country carried out by the Indian Space Research Organisation, was later successfully steered into its predetermined orbit.It was a grand success, the official said, declining to give further details of the launch from the Sriharikota space station in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
The copybook launch by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, the workhorse of the Indian space programme, had been kept secret because of its geopolitical sensitivity, NDTV television network also reported.
The 300-kilogram Tecsar is reported to be Israel’s most advanced satellite, and equipped with a camera that can take pictures of small targets under cloudy and foggy conditions, boosting its intelligence gathering capabilities.
Israel took the decision to launch it from India three years ago. It contracted India because Israel lacks a vehicle capable of boosting the satellite into a polar orbit, according to defence analysts.
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