(Xinhua) An Indian rocket blasted into space on Monday, carrying a cluster of 10 satellites, according to local media reports.
The PSLV-C9 rocket lifted off at 09:20 a.m. local time (0350 GMT) from the Sriharikota space station in Andhra Pradesh in southern India.
The rocket is carrying an unprecedented payload including an Indian remote-sensing satellite, a mini satellite and eight so-called nanosatellites developed by German and Canadian research institutions.
The satellites were deployed in orbit within minutes of each other in a rare space feat, with the entire mission lasting about 20 minutes.
India started its space program in 1963. Since then it has developed and launched several of its own satellites.
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