May 26 1999
From The Space Library
India's government-run space agency began commercial operations with the launch, from an island in the Bay of Bengal, of its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C-2 (PSLV), carrying Indian, German, and South Korean satellites. PSLV carried into orbit Oceansat-1, India's remote-sensing satellite, intended to carry out oceanographic research; KITSAT-3 of South Korea's Satellite Technology Research Center; and the German Aerospace Center's Tubsat. Chairperson of Indian Space Research Organization Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan stated that India could "offer to launch satellites at a much cheaper rate than other countries with launch facilities." Without naming how much India was charging for its newly inaugurated launch services, Kasturirangan said that in the international market it would cost US$1 million to piggyback a satellite.
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