It has never been done before. But it is the PSLV, also considered as ISRO’s workhorse, which gives the Indian space agency that confidence to be so audacious. In what will be a new world record, ISRO will launch 103 satellites from a single PSLV C-37 rocket, which it will fire into Space in the month of February from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh.
In what will be a moment of pride for the nation and the space agency, of the 103 satellites, only 3 are Indian, while the rest belong to other nations who have put their faith in the Indian agency. According to S. Somnath, the Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Center of the ISRO, the total payload the PSLV-C37 rocket will carry into space will be 1,350Kgs, out of which its own weight will be between 500 to 600 kilos.
Six additional strap-on boosters will be added to the rocket to compensate for the additional weight. The current record holder for carrying the most satellites in a single launch is Russia, when one of its DNEPR launch vehicles carried 37 satellites and placed them in orbit.