India rockets into history

– India successfully put a record 104 satellites from a single rocket into orbit yesterday in the latest triumph for its famously frugal space agency.

Scientists who were at the launch in the southern spaceport of Sriharikota applauded as the head of India’s Space Research Organisation (Isro) announced all the satellites had been ejected.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi immediately congratulated the scientists for the successful launch which smashes a record previously held by Russia.

The rocket took off at 9.28am and cruised at a speed of 27 000km/h, ejecting all the 104 satellites into orbit in 30 minutes, according to Isro.

The rocket’s main cargo was a 714kg satellite for Earth observation, but it was also loaded with 103 smaller nano satellites, weighing a combined 664kg. The smallest weighed only 1.1kg.

Nearly all of the nano satellites are from other countries, including Israel, Kazakhstan, The Netherlands, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and 96 from the US.

About 90 of the satellites are from a San Francisco-based company, Planet Inc each weighing around 4.5kg that will send Earth images from space.

Only three satellites belonged to India.

This was the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle’s 39th successful mission. In 2015, it carried 23 satellites to space.

The launch means India now holds the record for launching the most satellites in one go, surpassing Russia which launched 39 satellites in a single mission in June 2014.

And it is another feather in the cap for Isro which sent an unmanned rocket to orbit Mars in 2013 at a cost of just $73 million, compared with Nasa’s Maven Mars mission which had a $671 million price tag.

Isro is also mulling the idea of missions to Jupiter and Venus.

India is competing with other international players for a greater share of the commercial satellite launch market.