India-Bhutan Satellite jointly developed was launched today by ISRO

New Delhi: The India-Bhutan Satellite, jointly developed by India and Bhutan, was launched into space today by ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The PSLV C54 carried the India-Bhutan SAT, along with India's Earth Observation Satellite -06 and other satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India.

Bhutan's high-level delegation led by H.E. Lyonpo Karma Donnen Wangdi, Minister of Information and Communications of Bhutan, travelled to Sriharikota to witness the launch of the India-Bhutan SAT.

An 18-member media delegation from Bhutan who is on a week-long familiarisation visit to India was also at Sriharikota to witness the launch of the India-Bhutan SAT.

India has assisted in the capacity building of Bhutanese engineers through hands-on training at the UR Rao Satellite Centre, in Bengaluru, on satellite building and testing, as well as on processing and analysing satellite data.

The India-Bhutan SAT will provide high-resolution images to Bhutan to manage its natural resources. In August 2019, Indian and Bhutan jointly inaugurated the South Asia Satellite ground earth station in Thimphu.

Prime Minister of Bhutan presented a message from the King of Bhutan in Thimphu, conveying the most profound appreciation to the Government of India and ISRO for the support extended to the project from its inception to realisation and launch.

King said it is a historic milestone in the exemplary and enduring friendship between Bhutan and India. It marks a new era in the relations between the two nations extending to the frontiers of space.