India’s advanced space program has come of age! Indian space scientists, engineers and technologists set a new world record today with the launch of India’s 230 metric tonne Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle(PSLV-C9) that successfully placed ten satellites in orbit. It is the first time that ten satellites were launched in a single mission. The earlier record was held by Russia which launched eight satellites together in a single mission.
The PSLV-C9 that set a world record lifts off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh . . .
Photo: The Hindu Photo Gallery
The ten satellites that were launched by the PSLV-C9 are (not necessarily in the order they were put into orbit):
1. The 690 kg remote sensing satellite CARTOSAT-2A (India)
2. The 83 kg Indian Mini Satellite IMS-1 (India)
3. CUTE 1.7 (Japan)
4. SEEDS (Japan)
5. CAN-X2 (Canada)
6. AAUSAT-II (Denmark)
7. COMPASS-1 (Germany)
8. Delphi-C3 (the Netherlands)
9. NLS-5 (Canada)
10. Rubin-8 (Germany)
Apart from the two Indian satellites, all the rest are nano satellites. CUTE 1.7, SEEDS, CAN-X2, AAUSAT-II, COMPASS-1 and Delphi-C3 were clustered together by the University of Toronto, Canada and were collectively named NLS-4. The NLS-5 was also developed by the University of Toronto.
Terming the launch “satisfactory”, ISRO(Indian Space Research Organisation) Chairman G. Madhavan Nair said “all parameters worked wonderfully well.”
Congratulations, folks! Well done!
Having visited some of India’s space, nuclear and defence research facilities and having been acquainted with some of the brilliant scientists and technologists who work there, I am shocked by the bias of the notorious Indian ‘mainstream’ media who always question the contribution of India’s scientists. Despite facing a shortage of resources and despite being denied access to the latest technologies by the governments of some countries, Indian scientists have managed to make every truly patriotic Indian proud of their achievements in the fields of space, nuclear and defence technologies. But some sections of the Indian ‘mainstream’ media think that purchasing outdated technology at hugely inflated prices after signing deals that compromise the sovereignty of the country is the way forward.
Shame on those notorious scoundrels in the Indian ‘mainstream’ media who mislead the people of the country with their pathetic and biased reporting! I can only request my fellow citizens to look at the truth without being mislead by the notorious sections of the media.
I hope the brilliant and hardworking Indian scientists led by people like Anil Kakodkar, Madhavan Nair, Sivanthu Pillai and others are not disheartened by the actions of their pseudo-patriotic countrymen whose actions can make one believe that they(the pseudo-patriots) are in the pay of foreign governments and corporations. People who know the truth are always with the Indian scientists!
India can advance only by taking up science (and allied fields), engineering, technology, modern art and modern literature in a big manner! India’s true soft power is in the hands of those who are associated with the above fields!
An alien's thoughts about our planet 
wow.. Kudos to the Indian scientists… Truly a remarkable break-through. 🙂
Yes, they have done an admirable job, Zeniamai 🙂
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For those who are interested in the PSLV-C9, here are some links from ISRO’s website:
ISRO press release
ISRO PSLV-C9
Congratulations!!!! People of India!!! This demonstrate that with inteligence and effort anything can be accomplished!!!
Yesre,
Thanks!!!
I agree with you completely. The only way forward for a country like India that has a huge population but limited land and natural resources and capital is to adopt science and technology and a few other modern fields in a big way. India’s ancient glory is all history now. At the moment, India is not a developed country by any stretch of the imagination. But I am hopeful. We have laid some solid foundations in science and technology. Combine that with English language skills and the fact that India is a thriving democracy(however flawed it may be), we have a potent combination.
With a growing services sector and a rapidly diversifying manufacturing sector, if agriculture and the rural economy are given the importance that they deserve, we can achieve our development goals. I only want everyone to benefit from this development. I do not want the poor and the marginalised to get left out.
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Nice to know.
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Congratz India!
The world needs more nations capable of providing balance of power I think.
Audible Smirk, Bubbleonfire,
Thanks.
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Alfamundo,
Obrigado.
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Bookhling,
Yes, I agree with you that a truly multi-polar world is the need of the hour. Thanks.
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Hi Raj
Well said.
As someone who has lived through the ups and downs of ISRO, indirectly(dad is with ISRO)… I know how much every success means to the community(from the early SLVs to today).. and how heart breaking a failure is…
Had it been some stupid T20 match between a Chennai and Mumbai, all news channels would have it, or worse some model getting molested will be celebrated by media.
These scientists put in their sweat and toil in spite of all these things. They don’t need media’s attention.They are beyond that.
I take a bow.
Regards
Nikhil
DesiPundit and Nikhil,
Thanks.
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Nikhil,
You are correct. Most of the “mainstream” media is obsessed with sensationalism and trivialism.
I don’t have any relative in the ISRO, but my mother’s friend works there and she told us exactly what you mentioned. That every success means so much to the organisation (and to the country, ofcourse) because of the efforts put in by the community despite the technology bans. And the success has also benefitted other fields.
Almost everyone would be aware of the lightweight material (I think it was carbon-carbon) that was used to develop prosthetic aids for differentially abled persons because Abdul Kalam spoke about it. What struck me about the scientific organisations was the professionalism of the people who work there. The ISRO is certainly not like an average government office. The scientists toil away from the media glare. Only when something like this record-setting launch happens that the Indian media becomes aware of India’s scientific talent. But even then, some “mainstream” newspapers seem to have given front page coverage to a tiff between two cricketers while pushing this real news to the inside pages! 😡
I LOVE THE PAINT JOB ON THE INDIANS ROCKET’S
GOOD WORK ISRO. GOD BLESS INDIA
You are correct, Rajeev, while we applaud the Indian scientists, we should not forget the paint technicians! Painting rockets is not an easy job either.
well said.
Thanks, Rashid! 🙂
Good Article, As someone who knows science i can say confidently we are really not there in terms of cutting edge technology & research. We need to embark on new programs like IIT where we nurture the best indian brains who work on technoogies where we can be leaders in defence, space etc. We need to see if the Army or navy can match up with salaries similiar to the west. Also these institutions should be headed by most brilliant people who are below 40 years. Unless these fundamental shifts happens quickly i think we will lag behind or as a nation if a enemy threat does come into our doors we will be caught napping.Time is not to rest on past laurels but to engage effectively how we can get into the future.