India is ready to reap money in space at a low cost; SSLV to be launched on August 7

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch its new Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota on August 7. In this historic mission, the SSLV will be carrying two of India's own small satellites. If the project becomes successful, it will open the door to huge financial gains for India in the field of commercial satellite launches.

The global average cost of launching a satellite weighing less than 150 kg is Rs 786.5 crore. However, it requires just Rs 30 crores to launch an SSLV rocket. India even launches satellites on PSLV rockets at a cost of less than Rs 200 crores. With the introduction of SSLV in the market, the financial gain will increase manifold. Like PSLV, it also has four stages. The first three stages are solid fuel. The fourth step is liquid fuel. It can carry up to 300kg payloads to sun synchronous orbits (SSO) at up to 800km above Earth. The primary payload of SSLV is an Earth Observation Satellite called Microsat 2A. A satellite named AzaadiSAT will also be launched into space as a co-passenger on India's latest launch vehicle.