When Earth's Surface Shifts, a New Satellite Will See It
The satellite is a joint mission between NASA and India's space agency and has been in the making for more than a decade.
The satellite lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on India's southeastern coast. About 20 minutes later, it was released into an orbit that passes close to the North and South Poles at about 464 miles above Earth's surface.
At the mission control center, the reaction was jubilation. The visitors' gallery there included a few thousand students, and tens of thousands of people watched online.
'This success is demonstrating teamwork, international teamwork between two space-faring nations,' V. Narayanan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, or ISRO, said after the launch.
Casey Swails, NASA's deputy associate administrator, followed with equally complimentary remarks. 'This Earth science mission is one of a kind, and really shows the world what our two nations can do,' she said.
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