The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is planning to launch 83 satellites with 81 of them coming from foreign countries, using only a single rocket. The launch would be beneficial to the ISRO as a big chunk of their revenue comes from foreign launches.
Gadgets 360 reports that a top official of Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of ISRO, said the space agency is aiming for a world record with its plan of launching 83 satellites using only one rocket. ISRO plans to conduct the launch in early 2017.
The major challenge that the company will experience is holding the rocket in the same orbit till all the satellites are ejected. Antrix Corporation Chairman-cum-Managing Director Rakesh Sasibhushan said all 83 rockets would be put in a single orbit, so there won't be turning on and off of the rocket.
"During the first quarter of 2017 we plan to launch a single rocket carrying 83 satellites," Mr Sasibhushan said. "Most foreign satellites are nano satellites."
The Huffington Post reports that a big chunk of ISRO's revenues come from the launch of foreign satellites. The company has been receiving a significant amount from foreign launches in the last couple of years.
The agency earned $62.3 million from satellite launches in the year 2014 - 2015. The revenue is an increase of 200 percent from the previous year.
Mr Sasibhushan said that ISRO's order books stand at Rs. 500 crores ($74,900,000). He adds that there are still negotiations for a launch order for another Rs 500 crores.
ISRO plans to use the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) XL for the record-making launch. This is not new for ISRO, though, as the company has already done launching multiple satellites using a single rocket.
ISRO previously set a record with the launching of 20 satellites using its PSLV C34 satellite. Seventeen of the 20 satellites came from foreign countries.
