Overview

• Narayanan contrasted the concept with ISRO’s first indigenous launcher under A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, which had a 17-tonne liftoff mass and could place 35 kg into low Earth orbit.
• Near-term missions he listed include NavIC satellite deployments, the N1 rocket, and the Technology Demonstration Satellite.
• GSAT-7R, a naval communications satellite intended to replace GSAT-7 (Rukmini), is planned for launch this year.
• ISRO plans to place a 6,500 kg American communications satellite into orbit using an Indian rocket.
• He said India has 55 satellites in orbit and aims to roughly triple that number within three to four years.