In the first dedicated mission of its commercial arm NSIL, the ISRO on Sunday successfully launched Brazil’s earth observation satellite Amazonia-1 and 18 co-passengers, including five built by students, onboard a Polar rocket from the spaceport here. The satellites were placed in precise orbits one after another after the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C51 lifted off at 10.24 am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), in the first mission this year for the Indian Space Research Organisation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated ISRO on the success of the first dedicated commerciallaunch mission of PSLV-C51/Amazonia-1, saying it ushers in a new era of space reforms in the country. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao also lauded ISRO, whose tally of foreign sattelites launched rose to 342 with today’s mission.