ISRO's PSLV C-18 launched successfully

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) PSLV C-18 was successfully launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota on Wednesday.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle - C18 (PSLV-C18) blasted off from here at 11.00 a.m.

The rocket is carrying the 1,000-kg Megha Tropiques and three smaller satellites, which together weighing 42.6 kg

ISRO has built Megha-Tropiques, an advanced tropical climate monitoring satellite, at a cost of Rs 80 crore with "equal contribution" from French government space agency, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales.

Megha-Tropiques will investigate the contribution of water cycle in the tropical atmosphere to climate dynamics.

The other three nano satellites are one each from Luxembourg, the indigenous 'Jugnu' of IIT-Kanpur and SRM University, Chennai.

Data received from 'Jugnu' will be studied with a tracking system installed at IIT-Kanpur and pictures and information received from it will be used for research. Jugnu will also help gather information on floods, drought and disaster management.

This is the fourth ISRO mission this year, including one launched from French Guyana. (ANI)