Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Atomic Energy and Space Dr Jitendra Singh has said that India have launched more than 200 foreign customer satellites in the last four years. He was replying to a question in Rajya Sabha.
"The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been launching national satellites meant for meeting the earth observation, communication and navigational requirements of the country to cater to various societal needs. The spare capacity available in these missions are being utilized for launching satellites of other countries on commercial basis through Antrix corporation limited, the commercial arm of ISRO, said Dr Jitendra Singh
"Over the years there has been increase in the number of international satellites that have been launched as co-passengers to the national missions. In the last four years more than 200 foreign customer satellites have been launched. Considering the future launch demand for increased number of nano and small satellites, there are plans to increase the number of PSLV launches and also develop dedicated small launcher to cater to this high market demand", the minister added.
As on date, 237 foreign satellites belonging to international customers from 29 countries have been successfully launched using PSLV.
Starting from 1993 till date, PSLV has completed 43 launches, of which 2 launches failed. Overall success rate of PSLV has been 95%.
In September 2018, ISRO would launch a PSLV rocket solely for foreign satellites.
