ISRO to set world record by simultaneously launching 103 satellites in mid-February

India’s space agency has been achieving success one rocket launch after another. And now we’ve been made aware of the fact that ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) is about to attempt another massive feat in February. It is gearing up to launch 103 satellites consecutively via a single rocket ship. This doesn’t get any crazy and mind-boggling than this. The Indian space agency is out there to leave its mark on the skies, but is it really as simple as it may sound?

While the details about the launch had been a bit sketchy when we first heard about the launch but now we have some more insight into the process. And mind you, this launch isn’t a cakewalk and will require precision to successfully deploy all 103 satellites. It has been talked about by K Sivan, director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), the nodal agency for  ISRO’s launch vehicles, who says,

The number of satellites is not the big thing here. The real complexity lies in deciding with precision the actual orientation, angle and time interval of separation of the satellites. None of the satellites should collide with each other during separation in orbit.

In short, this can be seen as a long traffic jam with 103 vehicles stuck together. The space agency needs to figure out a way to scatter all satellites without having them collide with each other. Thus, ISRO would have to seperate these satellites in stages — in different directions and at different relative velocities. This is one of the only difficult tasks that the scientists have to achieve.

Further, Sivan continues to add that the PSLV C-37 mission isn’t much different from any other previous missions. Each satellite aboard the rocket is a micro-small satelitte, with 100 of those being of foreign agencies and three being Indian. The mass of the payload is about 1,350 kg, which is well within the capability of the PSLV. Talking about the same, he adds,

For the most part, it will be like any other PSLV mission. No technical changes have been made to the PSLV, for example.

Though the date for the launch hasn’t been decided as of yet, February 15 is being called the possible D-Day. Thus, this could be the potential date for this surprising launch. Previously, ISRO has managed to launch about 20 satellites in one go. But it would make a world record by sending off and deploying 103 of these satellites in one flight.