India’s cabinet has authorised the nation’s space agency, ISRO, to launch seven satellite launch vehicles, a report said Saturday. India, which wants to become a niche player in the global space communications market, had earlier announced plans to launch up to one dozen satellites over the next four years.
Under the project approved by the cabinet, the first flight of the new-generation Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle will be ready to go in mid-2007, The Hindu newspaper reported.
After the first flight in 2007, two flights will be launched every year, the newspaper said.
So far New Delhi has approved construction of five satellites including two for communications and a remote sensing satellite and another with cartographic applications.
In May India for the first time launched two satellites via a single locally-built rocket.
India has grabbed headlines with its commitment to send a probe to the moon in two to three years.
