India to launch country's first space observatory

AstroSat may be 10 times smaller than Hubble but will be first space telescope launched by a developing country

India is to launch a mini Hubble-type space observatory, a major step forward for the emerging power's increasingly capable space programme.

Last year, the south Asian nation became the first country to launch a successful Mars orbital mission on its first attempt. At 50m, the robotic probe, which is still circling the red planet, cost a fraction of earlier similar missions by the US, Russia and European countries.