New ISRO record

Can ISRO become the world’s premier satellite-placement service?

On 14 Feb 17, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched a record 104 satellites into space on a single rocket from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. Launch Vehicle PSLV-C37 also injected into orbit India's weather observation CARTOSAT Series satellite and 103 nano satellites.

Whose Satellites were Launched?

ISRO provided the service to US-based imaging start-up, Planet. The firm intends to release 50-trillion-pixel image of Earth’s landmass, every day. The launch included 88 satellites of the start-up. Planet now has 144 satellites orbiting and capturing images.

Of the rest of the satellites (104-88=16), three are Indian, and the remaining from Germany, Israel, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.

What is the Significance of the Launch

By placing 104 satellites in a single launch, ISRO has created a world-record. Russia comes second with 37 satellites launched from a single rocket. India was able to achieve this breakthrough, without increasing the capacity of the payload because of Nano satellites.

Assessment

ISRO over years has earned a reputation as a cost-effective and reliable satellite-placement service. With the advent of nano-satellites, there is likely to be increasing demand from  surveillance, remote sensing and communications industries. ISRO is well-placed to becoming the front-runner in satellite placement services.