WORKHORSE: The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle standing at the Sriharikota space station before its feat of launching 10 orbiters in one mission. -- PHOTO: AFP

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) ejected all the satellites within minutes of each other, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said.

Lift-off was at 9.20am in clear weather from the Sriharikota space station in southern India, it said.

The mission's success demonstrated India's ability to launch multiple payloads into precise orbit as it seeks to reap commercial benefits from its 45-year-old space programme.

It was the PSLV's 13th flight.

Isro said the rocket has 'repeatedly proved itself as a reliable and versatile workhorse launch vehicle'.

Soaring into clear skies and leaving behind a trail of orange and white smoke, the rocket first put into orbit the 690kg remote-sensing Indian satellite, Cartosat-2A.

It also launched an 83kg Indian mini-satellite and a cluster of eight so-called nano-satellites, each weighing between 3kg and 16kg, built by research institutions from Europe, Canada and Japan.

Isro chairman G. Madhavan said: 'It is a historic moment for us because it is the first time that we have launched 10 satellites in a single mission.'

The flight broke the previous record of eight satellites launched at one go by a Russian rocket.

The fee charged by Isro marketing arm Antrix Corp for the launch of the miniature foreign satellites was about 60 per cent to 70 per cent of what other space agencies charge.

New Delhi wants to compete with the United States, Russia, China, the Ukraine and the European Space Agency in offering commercial satellite launch services.

'By launching so many satellites at one go, India has showcased the commercial applicability of its space programme,' said Mr Ajay Lele, a space expert at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi.

'It wants to market its launch systems and also its capability in earth imagery.'

India first staked its case for a share of the commercial launch market by sending an Italian spacecraft into orbit in April last year.

In January, it launched an Israeli spy satellite despite protests from Iran.

Cartosat-2A, the main satellite launched yesterday to an altitude of 630km, has a domestic economic dimension and can be used for intelligence gathering as well.

The all-weather satellite, whose camera will beam 'very clear and detailed images of even minuscule objects' on earth, will aid economic planners in land and water resources management, Mr Lele said.

Yesterday's lift-off precedes the planned launch this year of a lunar mission, which will see India join Japan and China in moon exploration.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE