In a first, Taiwan researchers joined in developing satellite launched by ISRO

In a first, India's Space Research Organisation(ISRO) on Monday launched a satellite jointly developed by team of international researchers including from Taiwan.

INSPIRESat-1 satellite has been developed by scientists from universities of US, Taiwan, India and Singapore.

The universities include: University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Taiwan's National Central University (NCU) and Singapore' Nanyang Technological University. INSPIRESat-1 stands for International Research and Teaching Satellite Project satellite one. 

ISRO in a statement said Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C52 "placed two small satellites a student satellite (INSPIREsat-1) from Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology (IIST) in association with Laboratory of Atmospheric & Space Physics at University of Colorado, Boulder and a technology demonstrator satellite (INS-2TD) from ISRO, which is a precursor to India-Bhutan Joint Satellite (INS-2B). Co-passenger satellites were successfully separated from the PSLV in a predetermined sequence."

The satellite will provide information on Sun's corona and its impact on Earth's ionosphere. 

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C52 mission launched an Earth observation satellite and two other satellites. PSLV lifted off at 05:59 hours IST from the first launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota and injected Earth Observation Satellite EOS-04 which will provide high-quality images under all weather conditions for applications such as Agriculture, Forestry & Plantations, Soil Moisture & Hydrology and Flood mapping.

India has emerged as a major global centre for low-cost launch of satellites. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had congratulated t the team on the development. In a tweet, he said, "Congratulations to our space scientists on the successful launch of PSLV C52 mission. EOS-04 satellite will provide high resolution images under all weather conditions"

The development comes on a day when it emerged that India has banned several Chinese apps. The app ban has been part of growing scrutiny on China-backed technology over fears of they being used to snoop in.

In the aftermath of 2020 Galwan incident in which India lost 20 of its soldiers due to aggressive Chinese actions, India had announced similar app ban.