NEW DELHI (AFP) – India's first moon mission not only makes it a serious player in space exploration but also holds the prospect of a bigger slice of the lucrative satellite launch market, analysts say.
The country staged a flawless launch Wednesday of its first unmanned lunar orbiting spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 -- the Sanskrit word for Moon Craft -- with an Indian-built rocket from its southeastern coast.
"The launch has considerable political significance as it's an assertion of India's credibility in the area of space exploration," said New Delhi-based strategic analyst Uday Bhaskar.
If all goes to plan, the 1.5-tonne satellite should be flying over the pockmarked lunar surface November 11. It's being sent on a two-year mission to map in-depth the moon's topography and its mineral and chemical properties.
The launch, greeted with chest-thumping patriotism, "demonstrated the nation's growing technological potential," said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
source yahoo news
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