New Delhi: Next week's mega launch may help the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recover half of the total cost incurred, thanks to the foreign capsules mounted on its workhorse rocket PSLV-C37.
For those who are unaware, ISRO will be launching a total of 104 satellites in one go on February 15 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, out of which, only three are Indian.
"We want to make optimum use of our capacity. We are launching our three satellites. One is of 730 kgs while other two are 19 kgs each. We had additional space of 600 kgs. So we decided to accommodate 101 satellites," ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar said.
"Roughly half of our cost will be covered by the foreign satellites we are launching," he said, without revealing the exact amount ISRO will earn from foreign customers.
With the launch of foreign satellites, ISRO has managed to earn more than USD 100 million. It also has achieved mastery on launching smaller satellites.
These 101 satellites are nano-satellites and belong to foreign nations, including the US and Germany.
The Indian satellites are from the Cartosat series.
Last year, ISRO launched record 20 satellites at one go. The highest number of satellites launched in a single mission is 37, a record that Russia set in 2014. The US space agency NASA launched 29.
Kumar said ISRO is at present doing tests on its lander for Chandrayaan 2 at its facility in Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu and Challakere in Karnataka.
"It is an indigenous development and tests are on. It's a control descend. So it has engines that allow a control descend," Kumar said.
Chandrayaan 2 mission seeks to make a landing on the moon.
The ISRO said that all SAARC countries, except Pakistan, have given their consent for the South Asian satellites project envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "India's gift to its neighbours".
Kumar said that the manned mission project is "not a top priority" for the ISRO, as he emphasised on enhancing space infrastructure.
(With PTI inputs)
