India's space programme made history Monday with the successful launch of a Rs.700 million ($17.4 million) rocket that placed in orbit 10 satellites - two Indian and eight foreign. Scientists of the Indian space agency ISRO heaved a sigh of relief when the news that all satellites had separated came in, signalling that the mission was a success.

"It is a memorable moment for Team ISRO. The rocket stuck to its path without any deviation and delivered all the 10 satellites in their intended orbit," said G. Madhavan Nair, head of India's satellite agency Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), immediately after the launch. This is ISRO's second successful launch this year after January when it launched an Israeli satellite.

Monday's launch marked several firsts for ISRO - the first time an ISRO rocket carried 10 satellites at a time, the first time a mini satellite was designed and sent up and the first time the Indian space agency utilised the optimum capacity of the PSLV's core alone configuration.

The satellite carries an advanced panchromatic camera that can take pictures with a spatial resolution of about one metre and can cover a land strip of 9.6 km. India, a world leader in the remote sensing data market, earns around Rs.520 million from this. After the latest launch, India has a total of eight remote sensing satellites orbiting the earth -- IRS-1C, IRS-1D, Oceansat 1, TES, Resourcesat 1, Cartosat 1 and Cartosat 2 and Cartosat 2A.