India launched a closely-guarded Israeli-built radar spy satellite Monday to begin gathering valuable intelligence data from a 342-mile-high perch above the planet, regardless of lighting and weather conditions.
The country's 15th Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle ignited at 0115 GMT and leapt from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Center on India's east coast. Liftoff of the 144-foot-tall rocket was at 6:45 a.m. local time.
The Indian Space Research Organization, which oversaw the launch, declared the flight a success on its Web site.
The PSLV was carrying a secretive satellite fitted with a dish-like radar antenna designed to see through darkness, clouds and camouflage, Spaceflight Now reported Saturday.
The satellite, named RISAT 2, weighs about 660 pounds at launch and was built by Israel Aerospace Industries. It is designed for an orbit with an altitude of about 342 miles and inclined 41 degrees to the equator.
The new satellite provides an important new capability for Indian intelligence services. Previous Indian satellites, including a high-resolution observer launched last April, carried optical imaging sensors that were hampered by darkness and bad weather conditions on the ground
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