New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has earned $143 million in foreign exchange revenue by launching 393 foreign satellites and three Indian satellites on a commercial basis between 2015 and 2024. These launches were conducted aboard ISRO’s PSLV, LVM3, and SSLV vehicles, for countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and several others.
Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh revealed the figures in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, highlighting ISRO’s global reach, with satellites launched for 34 countries. Notably, 232 of these launches were for the US, 83 for the UK, and others for nations like Singapore, Canada, and Japan.
In addition to its commercial success, India has signed space cooperation agreements with 61 countries and five multilateral bodies, focusing on satellite remote sensing, communication, navigation, and space exploration.
India’s space ambitions continue to soar, marked by the successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon’s South Pole in 2023 and the launch of Aditya-L1, India’s first solar mission. The country is also preparing for its Gaganyaan mission, aimed at launching astronauts into orbit, with a scheduled launch later this year.
India’s growing space prowess, supported by a thriving private sector since the 2020 policy shift, has set the stage for further milestones, including the establishment of a ‘Bharatiya Antariksha Station’ by 2035 and sending an Indian to the Moon by 2040.
