GISAT set for 2016-17 launch
In an exclusive interview to TOI, ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan speaks about the increasing number of commercial launches by the space agency, entrusting private players with the task of building rockets and satellites and on the formation of a consortium to build PSLV for 21 consecutive launches by 2017.
How does increasing the number of commercial launches help the space agency in its quest for space success?
While the primary mandate for our launch vehicle development programme is to meet the national needs of orbiting satellites for remote sensing, communications, navigation and space science, the commercial launch opportunities enabled us to benchmark our Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) series in the global context. In the next mission of PSLV, we are set to launch six more foreign satellites from Austria, Canada, Denmark and the UK. Discussions are on for launching a few more foreign satellites during 2013-15. This is a tacit recognition by international community of the technological maturity, reliability and cost-effectiveness of our PSLVs. Also, these commercial endeavours foster international cooperation in the field of space technology.
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