India’s space agency, ISRO’s record-breaking performance on Wednesday has three significant implications. First, it’s a technology demonstrator for ‘slow release’ of nano satellites into orbit or handling complex launches. Secondly it proves launch ability of payloads at a very competitive price and thirdly it opens up a promising market for customers looking for opportunities to place micro satellites for commercial and research purposes.

On a bright Wednesday morning, ISRO’s PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle), triumphed for the 37th time by placing 104 satellites. Blasting off at 9.28 am from the Satish Dhawan Spaceport in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, the single rocket first released the 714 kg, Earth observation, mapping satellite Cartosat-2. It was followed by two other Indian satellites. In the next 30 minutes thereafter it ejected in clusters the 101 nano satellites, including 96 from the US.

The feat established India as the first country to break the 100 barrier in a single mission. Simultaneously, with successes in 37 of the 39 mission, PSLV, the ‘Workhorse’ of the ISRO in its different versions (the present being the heaviest with 320 kgs at lift off and 44.4 metre tall) and evolving challenges emerges amongst the most reliable and best-in-class in the world to place satellites in the near orbit.

The Indian Space Research Organisation bettered its own feat of launching 23 satellites in a single mission in June 2015 and smashed the record held by Russia, which placed 37 satellites in one go in 2014. The participation of US, Israel, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and Netherlands in the complex mission in a way is testimony to the confidence that the global community is placing on India’s reliability in space launches in the low earth orbit. In addition to Cartosat-2, the domestic satellites placed in the polar sun synchronous orbit (about 520 km from the Earth) were the INS-1A & INS-1B, which are carrying experimental payloads of the Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad and the laboratory for Electro Optics Systems. Of the 96 satellites from the US, atleast 90 belong to the San Francisco-based, Planet Inc. The company intends to have a constellation called ‘Dove’ (satellites are called Doves or cubesats) with the intent of imaging the earth.

Market opportunities

Today’s achievement can also bolster the marketing abilities of Antrix Corporation Ltd., the commercial arm of the ISRO to aggressively bid for more business in the lucrative multi-billion dollar launch market. While the big bucks are still in the launch of heavier satellite into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) space, there is a steady growth in the low orbit as well. The demands are coming from the private sector, the Research community and the smaller countries.

Another trigger for the ISRO to shift its focus to substantially increase its launches is the pressure being put by the Narendra Modi Government on the agency to generate more revenues and expand its commercial application capabilities. While Prime Minister, Modi has been backing the efforts of the Space Department, lauding its every success, be it PSLV, GSLV, Mars mission etc. the outlays have not been commensurately hiked in the last two budgets.

Consequently, the ISRO has set itself a busy schedule in the next few years, doubling its launches to over a dozen every year, accelerating work on GSLV Mark-III and setting its eyes on deep and outer space exploration in the long term.

The quicker the GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) becomes operational, the faster the country can break into the ‘Big Boys’ Club of launching heavier satellites like the US, Russia, European Ariane Space and the fast rising Private Players like SpaceX of Elon Musk, Lockheed Martin and Blue Orign of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Since it built launch capabilities, the ISRO has launched around 225 satellites of which over 175 are foreign with the Antrix negotiating the contracts or arrangement.

AS Kiran Kumar, its Chairman said: “Now we are targeting GSLV MkII and then Mk III...a series of launch activities planned to ensure like last year this year also we have many exciting events coming.”

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