Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched 104 satellites into space in a single mission from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

Launched aboard ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket, the satellites include a 714kg Cartosat-2 series satellite for earth observation

Featuring a combined weight of around 663kg at lift-off, the Cartosat-2 series satellite and its 103 co-passenger satellites were placed in a 505km polar sun-synchronous orbit (SSO).

Marking the 16th PSLV flight in 'XL' configuration, the latest launch includes 101 nanosatellites, one each from Kazakhstan, Israel, The Netherlands, Switzerland, and the UAE.

The launch also includes 96 satellites from the US and two nanosatellites from India.

ISRO noted that all the newly launched 104 satellites collectively weighed 1,377kg.

“We want to enable the Indian space ecosystem."

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) PSLV project director B Jayakumar was quoted by Business Standard as saying: “Our teams had come with very good solutions for (the large order), including finding real estate to accommodate all the satellites in the payload compartment.

“We want to enable the Indian space ecosystem. The demand for electronics in space industry is growing.

“There are opportunities for niche companies in space. Some of the technology is already with the private companies.”

Last June, ISRO launched a PSLV rocket carrying 20 satellites, including 13 for the US and two from Canada, one each from Germany and Indonesia.

Image: PSLV carrying 104 satellites into space. Photo: courtesy of ISRO.