The Indian Space Research organization (ISRO) is all set to launch a record 103 satellites into space on one rocket. The rocket which is a PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle)-C37 will be launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in the first week of next month. On succeeding ISRO will make a world record for launching the most number of satellites at one go.
Out of the 103 satellites, 3 are Indian. And the rest are from other countries including the US, France, and Germany. The Indian satellites will monitor the earth’s atmosphere. The other 100 are micro-small satellites, most of them are meant for commercial purposes.
“We are making a century by launching over 100 satellites at one go,” said S. Somnath, Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre of ISRO, on the second day of Indian Science Congress 2017 in Tirupati.
ISRO had previously planned to launch 83 satellites, out of which 80 were foreign ones, in the last week of January. But the addition of 20 more foreign satellites delayed the launch by one week.
With the launch of so many satellites in one single mission, India is eyeing to leave other countries behind in the growing global market of commercial satellite launching.
Last June ISRO set a record by launching a rocket with 20 satellites onboard. 13 of these 20 satellites were from the US. Presently, Russia holds the world record for launching the most satellites in one mission. In 2014 Russia launched a rocket carrying 39 satellites.
ISRO is known for achieving marvelous feats at minimum costs. In 2013 ISRO ejected Mangalyaan, also known as the Mars Orbiter Mission(MOM) into space. Mangalyaan started orbiting the red planet on 24th September 2014 making India the first nation ever to be successful to place a probe in Mars orbit on its maiden attempt. ISRO’s MOM cost $73 million in comparison to NASA’s Maven Mars Mission that cost $673 million.
