President Mukherjee congratulates ISRO on landmark PSLV-C34 launch

New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on the successful launch of PSLV-C34, carrying a record 20 satellites in a single mission including the Cartosat-2 series satellite and 19 co-passenger satellites. "My heartiest congratulations to you and your entire team at ISRO for the successful launch of PSLV-C34. I understand that images received from the Cartosat-2 satellite will be useful in providing scene-specific spot imagery that can be used for detailed mapping and other cartographic applications as well as applications in Land Information System (LIS) and Geographical Information System (GIS)," he said in a message to Chairman of ISRO A.S. Kiran Kumar. Asserting that the nation is proud of this achievement which has demonstrated India's increasing space capabilities yet again, the President wished ISRO success in all their future endeavours. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also lauded Indian scientists for the 'monumental accomplishment', saying that ISRO continues to break new barriers. In a series of tweets, the Prime Minister said that India' space programme has shown the transformative potential of science and technology in people's lives. "Over the years we developed expertise & capability to help other nations in their space initiatives. This is the skill of our scientists," he said. ISRO launched 20 satellites, including 17 foreign payloads, using its flagship rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C34 from its Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota today. The launched vehicle lifts off with India's Cartosat 2 series satellite meant for earth observations as the primary payload and 19 other micro and nano satellites.