Tirupati: ISRO
will launch a record 103 satellites in one go using its workhorse PSLV-C37 in
the first week of February, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet South
Asian satellite project will take off in March.
As many as 100 of the satellites set for launch in February belong to
foreign nations, including the US 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.
The space agency had earlier planned
a launch of 83 satellites in the last week of January, of which 80 were foreign
ones. But 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.
He, however, did not specify the
number of countries that would launch its satellites in this mission, but said
it includes nations like the US and Germany.
“These will be 100 micro-small
satellites, which will be launched using a PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle)- C37. The weight of the payload will be 1350 kgs, of which 500-600 kgs
will be the satellite's weight,” Somnath added.
The launch will be a major feat in
country's space history as no exercise on this scale has been attempted before.
Last year, ISRO launched 22 satellites at a go and this launch will have
almost five times the number of crafts. The South Asian satellite will be a
part of GSAT-9, which will be launched in March this year, said M Nageshwara
Rao, Associate Director of ISRO.
The communication satellite was to be
launched in December 2016, but was slightly delayed as some other satellites
are to be launched before that. Apart from India, the satellite will benefit
Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. -PTI
Source: DNA- 5th January,2017
