India eyes record satellite launch as Asia’s space race heats up

INDIA - Forget the US versus Russia. The real space race is taking place in Asia. India’s space agency will attempt to launch 104 satellites from a single rocket Wednesday -- a record feat that, if successful, will cement the country’s space smarts after its successful Mars orbiter mission. The launch would almost triple the current record of 37 satellites Russia sent into orbit in 2014.

“It’s going to be a big deal. It shows the sophistication of India’s space program,” says Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, head of the Nuclear and Space Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation. India, China and Japan have all outlined bold space exploration plans for 2017 and beyond. Smaller powers, like South Korea, also want to get in on the act with ambitions of their own. The increasing competition for space-related power and prestige in Asia has echoes of the Cold War space race of the mid-20th century.

But they’re not the only motivations. The pursuit of science and technological advancement plus the economic and commercial benefits they bring also factor highly. “I’ve long said that the real race is in Asia,” says Joan JohnsonFreese, a professor and space specialist at the US Naval War College.

“Recognition of the multifaceted benefits from space exploration and space technology dates back to the Apollo program. Asian countries have been following that model and seeking those benefits ever since.”

(CNN.com)