Unbelievable! India Just Launched 104 Satellites in 18 Minutes

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) just set a record for launching 104 satellites in a single mission, breaking the previous record of Russia's space agency which launched 37 satellites in one go in 2014.

It lifted off on Feb. 14, at 10:58 p.m. Eastern from the Satish Dhawan Space Center.

Futurism notes that the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) traveled with a speed of 27,358 km/h (17,000 mph), as it discharged the 104 satellites just seconds after each one. Three of it are owned by India while the rest are smaller nanosatellites owned by the United States, Israel, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Netherlands and other foreign clients.

The rocket's primary payload is India's Cartosat-2D, a remote sensing satellite.

Among the satellites, 88 are owned by Planet Labs. They call it dove satellites which weigh about 10 pounds each. Collectively, they are called "Flock 3p." What is special about the Flock 3p is that according to their website, it will capture in frame all of Earth's landmass every day. It has a 200 mbps downlink speed and is capable of collecting over 2 million km² per day.

The record breaking achievement of the ISRO impressed many commercial space investors, and this might actually be their ticket to securing more clients that ought to launch satellites in space less costly. The ISRO is known to offer commercial space services at a much lower price, as compared to NASA and others.

C. Uday Bhaskar, the director of the Society for Policy Studies, a public policy research group based in New Delhi, as quoted by New York Times said, "By charging significantly less to launch satellites into space, India could carve out a niche in the $3 billion to $4 billion market for detailed information about climate, topography and defense."

BBC said India's budget for its space program has increased this year and they are also planning on sending a mission to Venus.