President A P J Abdul Kalam on Thursday congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation scientists for the successful launch of CARTOSAT-1 and HAMSAT satellites.

ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C6, carrying India's remote sensing satellite CARTOSAT-1 and a micro satellite HAMSAT, blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Thursday.

Also see: PSLV-C6 lifts off

"I congratulate you," Kalam, who watched the launch, told the scientists soon after the PSLV-C6 successfully placed the two satellites into orbit.

ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair told reporters that the entire system was 'working perfectly'.
 
PSLV-C6 had withstood bad weather conditions, including gales and heavy rainfall, during the last 12 hours, he said.

Parliament also congratulated ISRO for the successful launch.

"The successful launch is a major milestone in ISRO's plan to develop state-of-the-art infrastructure for conducting space launch operations," Rajya Sabha Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat said.

In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Somnath Chatterjee said the launch had "once again demonstrated the strength of Indian science, made possible by ceaseless efforts of our dedicated scienties in yet another frontier area of space technology".

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he shared the nation's sense of delight.

"I share the nation's sense of delight and pride at the news we have received from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota," he said and described the launch as "another significant milestone" in the Indian Space Programme.