Isro plans to launch at least one satellite every month in 2018

Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is planning to launch at least one satellite every month in 2018. Isro will deploy one rocket every month from its spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, said a top space official.

"We are planning to have at least one launch mission a month in 2018 to deploy satellites in the earth's orbit for various applications," said Isro chairman AS Kiran Kumar.

"For 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years, we are looking to receive increased budgets from the country in view of the missions," he told media on the sidelines of the inauguration of a Gallery on Space Technology at the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum in New Delhi.

Isro has a budget of about Rs9,000 crore for 2017-18.

For the 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years, he said, Isro is looking to receive expanded budgets for bigger missions.

The first mission is likely to be the launch of Cartosat-2E remote-sensing satellite along with 28 nano and micro-satellites, in the beginning, of January if the December launch has to be delayed.

On Chandrayan-2 mission, Kiran Kumar stated that the work on releasing the satellite was in full motion and the launch is likely to take place by the first quarter of 2018. Isro is also slated to launch a 600 kg spacecraft created by TeamIndus on its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle before 31 March 2018, althogh nothing has been finalised yet on who will build the satellite, the Isro chief said.

Addressing a group of students at the opening of the space technology gallery, Kiran Kumar said: ''You're at the prime time where India as a country is growing ahead. India has got every potential to be the number one in the world, for which each of you must put in your best attempts.''

Astrosat, the country's first space observatory, was one of the best satellites in the category providing Indian investigators with access to data about the edge of the cosmos, he added.