By R Anil Kumar
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The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has generated a revenue of $439 million from foreign satellite launches in the last 10 years
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Between January 2015 and December 2024, ISRO successfully launched 393 foreign satellites and 3 Indian customer satellites using its PSLV, LVM-3, and SSLV launch vehicles. This endeavour has generated substantial revenue for India, with ISRO earning approximately $439 million (₹3,327 Crores) from these launches over the ten-year period
Bengaluru. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has achieved significant milestones in the past decade, particularly in the realm of commercial satellite launches.
Between January 2015 and December 2024, ISRO successfully launched 393 foreign satellites and 3 Indian customer satellites using its PSLV, LVM-3, and SSLV launch vehicles. This endeavour has generated substantial revenue for India, with ISRO earning approximately $439 million (₹3,327 Crores) from these launches over the ten-year period.
The foreign exchange revenue generated from these launches includes nearly $143 million and 272 million euros, with the latter equivalent to about $296 million at current exchange rates.
This revenue highlights ISRO’s growing role in the global satellite launch market. Since 2014, India has launched satellites for 34 countries. The highest has been from the US (232). The other countries include the UK (83), Singapore (19), Canada (8), Korea (5) Luxemburg (4), Italy (4), Germany (3), Belgium (3), Finland (3), France (3), Switzerland (2) Netherlands (2), Japan (2), Israel (2), Spain (2), Australia (1), United Arab Emirates (1) and Austria (1) among others.
ISRO’s international collaborations extend beyond commercial launches. The organisation has signed cooperative documents with 61 countries and five multilateral bodies, focusing on areas such as satellite remote sensing, navigation, communication, space science, and planetary exploration.
Notable collaborations include a joint satellite mission with NASA named NISAR and another with the French National Space Agency (CNES) called TRISHNA.
Additionally, ISRO is exploring a joint lunar polar exploration mission with Japan’s JAXA.
The Indian government has significantly enhanced the funding for the Gaganyaan Program, India’s ambitious human spaceflight mission, to ₹20,193 Crores from ₹11,170 Crores.
This increase is part of a broader revision in the program’s scope, which now includes the development of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) and precursor missions to support it.
The revised program aims to complete eight missions by December 2028, consisting of two crewed and six uncrewed flights. This is an expansion from the original plan of one crewed and two uncrewed missions.
The program now includes the development of the first module of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS-1) and four missions to demonstrate and validate technologies for BAS by December 2028.
The first uncrewed mission is planned for late 2024, with subsequent uncrewed missions in 2025 and early 2026. The first crewed mission is targeted for late 2026. Two crewed missions are planned by 2028, marking a significant increase from the initial plan of a single crewed mission.
Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS)
The objective of BAS is intended to be India’s first space station, orbiting at an altitude of 400-450 km above Earth. It will have five modules and will be built in phases. The first module of BAS is scheduled to launch by 2028, with the station expected to be fully operational by 2035.
The revised Gaganyaan and BAS Programs is a national effort led by ISRO, collaborating with industry, academia, and other national agencies. It aims to develop critical technologies for long-duration human space missions and support scientific research in microgravity environments.
