The launch happened at 9.26 am and successfully completed all its stages within 26 minutes, at a cost that is reportedly about 10 times less than other space agencies. 

Here are 9 facts about the launch.

• This was first time that such a large number of satellites were launched by ISRO into orbit at the same time. The space agency’s previous record was 10 satellites in June 2008. 
• The world record for the largest-ever launch is held by Russia, whose Dnepr rocket put 37 satellites into orbit in 2014.
• The 320-tonne PSLV C-34 (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) is carrying 17 foreign small satellites from Canada, Indonesia, Germany and the US.
• It also has two satellites—Sathyabhamasat and Swayam—made by Indian universities.
• The total weight of all the satellites is 1,288 kg.
• The most important, and heaviest passenger at 727.5 kg, is an earth observational spacecraft from India’s Cartosat-2 series, which will be deployed at an orbit height of 505 km.  

• Of the 13 US-made small satellites that were launched today, one belongs to Terra Bella, a Google-owned company. The 110-kg Google satellite, called SkySat Gen- 2, is capable of taking sub-meter resolution images and high definition video.
• The other four foreign satellites are LAPAN-A3 from Indonesia, BIROS from Germany, and M3MSat and GHDSat-D from Canada.
• Till now, ISRO has launched 57 satellites for foreign vendors from about 20 countries since May 1999, earning about $100 million from these.