INDIA

India’s space agency launched 104 satellites into space over the course of 18 minutes last Wednesday, nearly tripling the previous record for single-day satellite launches and establishing India as a key player in a growing commercial market for space-based surveillance and communication. Wednesday’s launch was being watched closely by firms that place satellites in orbit, because India’s space agency charges substantially less than its competitors in Europe and North America, said C Uday Bhaskar, the director of the Society for Policy Studies in New Delhi.