India puts record 104 satellites into orbit

SRIHARIKOTA, India (AFP) – India successfully put a record 104 satellites from a single rocket into orbit on Wednesday in the latest triumph for its famously frugal space agency. Scientists who were at the launch in the southern spaceport of Sriharikota burst into applause as the head of India's Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced all the satellites had been ejected. ''My hearty congratulations to the ISRO team for this success,'' the agency's director Kiran Kumar told those gathered in an observatory to track the progress of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).