India Monday launched five satellites, including its remote sensing Cartosat-2B, which were successfully placed into orbit just minutes after the lift off from Sriharikota spaceport in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, said officials of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

ISRO launched at 09:22 a.m. local time the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C15, costing 2.6 billion rupees (52 million U.S. dollars), which carried Cartosat-2B and four others -- Alsat from Algeria, two nano satellites from Canada and Switzerland, and a pico (very small) satellite, called Oceansat 2, built by students of seven engineering colleges -- at the end of an over 51-hour countdown.

Local TV channels showed the launch live as the rocket soared into skies in clear weather leaving behind plumes of smoke.

"I am extremely happy to say PSLV was a successful flight. All the satellites were injected precisely," ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan said.

India's Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahuluwalia, who witnessed the launch, said, "It has been a wonderful experience. The ISRO has made the country proud."

Cartosat-2B, an advanced remote sensing satellite built by ISRO, is the latest in the Indian remote sensing satellite series and the 17th in this series. It's intended to augment remote sensing data services to the users of multiple spot scene imagery with 0.8 meter spatial resolution and 9.6 km swath in the panchromatic.

The satellites' imagery can be used for preparing detailed forest type maps, tree volume estimation, village settlement mapping and planning for development, rural connectivity, canal alignment, coastal land form, mining monitoring and others.

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