NASA and India have paired up to launch an Earth-mapping satellite capable of tracking the slightest changes in land and ice

A formidable new radar satellite jointly developed by the United States and India launched Wednesday, designed to track subtle changes in Earth's land and ice surfaces and help predict both natural and human-caused hazards.

The $1.5 billion synthetic aperture radar imaging satellite, a joint project between NASA and the Indian space agency ISRO, successfully launched into orbit on Wednesday aboard that nation's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, a medium-lift rocket.