ISRO to launch record 103 satellites in single flight in Feb
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch record 103 satellites in a single flight in February first week. As many as 100 of the satellites to be launched are from foreign nations. Earlier, ISRO had said it will launch 83 satellites but the launch got delayed due to the addition of more satellites, an official said.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch a record 103 satellites in one go using its workhorse PSLV-C37 in the first week of February.As many as 100 of the satellites set for launch in February belong to foreign nations, including the United States and Germany. "We are making a century by launching over 100 satellites at one go," said S Somnath, Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre of the ISRO.That ambitious figure is an improvement on the space agency's statement last week that said it will launch 83 satellites in one go. With the addition of 20 more foreign satellites, the launch was delayed by a week and will now take place in first week of February, Somnath said.Of the 83 satellites planned earlier, 80 belonged to Israel, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Switzerland and the US. They weighed about 500 kg.The three Indian satellites scheduled to be launched are Cartosat-2 series, weighing 730 kg as primary payload, and INS-IA and INS-1B, weighing 30 kg.2016 ISRO'S GOLDEN YEAR2016 saw ISRO putting into orbit 34 satellites -- 33 satellites with Indian rockets and one (GSAT-18) by French company Arianespace.Of the 33 satellites launched with Indian rockets, 22 belonged to foreign customers and the remaining 11 were owned by ISRO and a couple of Indian academic institutions.Calling 2016 a "good" year, ISRO chairman AS Kiran Kumar said ISRO would launch at least five communication satellites in 2017.