BANGALORE, India (AP) -- India on Thursday launched a satellite equipped with two cameras to provide images of natural disasters, map land resources and track environmental changes in South Asia, the country's space agency said.

"The satellite, Cartosat-1, was launched successfully," S. K. Karimulla, an official at the launch pad on Sriharikota island off India's southeastern coast, told The Associated Press.

The remote sensing satellite will track the impact of natural disasters, deforestation and forest fires, map wasteland and farmland, and help with crop production estimates, an ISRO statement said.

The Indian Space Research Organization now operates seven remote sensing satellites including Cartosat-1. The rocket also carried a light satellite called Hamsat, exclusively for amateur radio operators in South Asia.

The new satellite, weighing 1,560 kilograms (3,432 pounds), was put on a pole-to-pole orbit at 10:32 a.m. (0502 GMT) by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.

Cartosat-1 can capture details spanning 2.5 meters (8.20 feet) on the Earth and will be followed in 2006 by the launch of Cartosat-2 with a spatial resolution of about 1 meter (3.28 feet).