Ah Neh launched a record bunch of tiny micro nano pico satellites to claim world record. China says the total weight of all 104 Ah Neh satellites is less than 1/8 or ours. A story of Ah Neh EGO!
http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/india-sets-world-record-by-launching-104-satellites
India sets world record by launching 104 satellites
The 104 satellites, weighing 1,378kg in total, were launched at one go aboard the PSLV rocket yesterday in Sriharikota, India.
The 104 satellites, weighing 1,378kg in total, were launched at one go aboard the PSLV rocket yesterday in Sriharikota, India.PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Published
Feb 16, 2017, 5:00 am SGT
Successful launch boosts country's profile in global space industry worth billions
Nirmala Ganapathy India Bureau Chief In New Delhi
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched 104 satellites, including 88 from a US imaging company, at one go, setting a new world record and boosting its profile in the multibillion-dollar international space industry.
The 104 satellites, weighing 1,378kg in total, were launched yesterday aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), an indigenous rocket dubbed "ISRO's workhorse". That broke the previous record of 37 satellites launched at one go by Russia in 2014.
Scientists, wearing white jackets with the abbreviation PSLV on the back, cheered in the control room as the satellites - one each from Israel, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, and a total of 96 from the United States, as well as three from India - were sent into orbit, one after the other.
Satish Dhawan Space Centre director P. Kunhikrishnan said the launch was "inscribed in gold in the space history of India".
"The 104 satellites were very precisely injected into orbit, clearly reiterating ISRO's capability in handling complex missions," he said.
Congratulatory messages poured in from across the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it "another proud moment for our space scientific community and the nation", saying in a tweet: "India salutes our scientists."
The satellites include the 714kg Cartosat-2 series module, which will keep an eye on activities on India's borders with China and Pakistan.
All the others were nano satellites - small modules that weigh less than 10kg each - including 88 from US company Planet Labs, which provides satellite imagery to firms.
The company said the launch has given it the ability to "image all of Earth's land mass every day", and "was the largest satellite constellation ever to reach orbit".
Over five decades, India has built up a space programme that is now a serious competitor in the multibillion-dollar space market. Going by unofficial estimates, the cost of launches in India is 30 per cent to 40 per cent less than elsewhere.
The space agency has launched 226 satellites from 23 countries, including Singapore, earning millions of dollars over the past 17 years. Singapore's first locally built satellite was sent up in 2011, a satellite from Nanyang Technological University in 2014, and six Singapore satellites in December 2015.
Experts said the launch of 104 satellites - with most for foreign clients - was a boost for India's reputation, already buttressed by a successful mission to Mars.
"This launch is significant on two to three levels. It essentially allows other countries to look at the Indian space programme seriously after this successful mass mission that no one in the world has achieved. Thirty-seven to 104 is a quantum jump that puts India on a higher pedestal," said Professor Ajay Lele, a senior fellow at the Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. "Everyone in the world will take note."
Scientists revealed that the project to send up a record number was full of challenges.
"We came up with a unique separation sequence that was designed by our team," said Mr B. Jayakumar, project director of the launch. "The first one was finding real estate for accommodating all the satellites in the payload department."
ISRO can handle satellites weighing up to only 2,000kg, but it is aiming to send a satellite weighing 10,000kg aboard the GSLV Mark 3, now being tested.
A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 16, 2017, with the headline 'India sets world record by launching 104 satellites'. Print Edition | Subscribe
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印度一箭104星意义有多大：卫星总重量仅为中国1/8
2017年02月16日 11:21 环球网
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新浪扶翼 行业专区
在印度社交媒体上，“世界纪录”成了昨天的流行词。包括中国在内的多个国家早就掌握了“一箭多星”技术，但并未像印度这样在“多”上追求极致。印度这项“突破”含金量究竟多高呢？分析人士注意到，印度之所以能够创造这个纪录，很大程度上是因为这次发射的卫星大部分都很小，104颗加在一起还不到1.4吨，去年中国发射的天宫二号为8.6吨（当然两者轨道高度有所不同）。
美国早在上世纪60年代就最早掌握了“一箭多星”技术。2015年，中国曾用长征六号火箭一次送20颗卫星上天，创下当时的亚洲航天纪录。现在印度的“一箭104星”意义到底有多大？
中国空间技术研究院研究员庞之浩15日接受《环球时报》记者采访时表示，这次发射产生了巨大政治影响。这次成功，为小卫星发射技术起到推动作用，一箭多星预计会越来越普遍。因为发射成本越低，微小卫星的应用成本就越低。这也将给印度带来可观的商业利益。在技术上这次印度也有一定进步，解决了发射大量卫星的一些技术，涉及分配器接口、时序控制等。但这次发射算不上重大航天突破，因为印度火箭的太阳同步轨道运载能力只有1.75吨，而中国的长征-4C达到3吨多。而且，印度这次发射对轨道高度相对要求并不高，这些卫星的轨道高度基本都在距地面500公里左右。
庞之浩说，如果对火箭运载能力和轨道高度要求更高，则需要采取“先进上面级”技术——别称太空摆渡车。就像机场的摆渡车，会把乘客按照目的地送到不同的飞机舱门旁边。这种技术中国已掌握，去年远征一号和二号卫星已经采用。
一位参与过中国长征系列火箭设计的航天专家对《环球时报》记者说，这次印度发射“一箭104星”，更多是一种形式上的东西，并不真正反映水平有多高。发射卫星的关键是有没有控制能力、重量是多少。发射小卫星可以做到很简单，几公斤一个，就相当于一个无线电发射机。如果是质量很小且不是多轨道的话，那就像打子弹一样，发出去没太大难度。但若变成不同轨道，多个卫星重量达到两三百公斤，那就厉害了。“中国的运载火箭水平比印度要高很多，从控制能力和可行性方面看，目前中国只落后于美俄。”
无论如何，印度航天技术的进步有目共睹。2014年，印度的“曼加里安”号火星探测器成功进入火星轨道，印度成为第一个将探测器送入火星轨道的亚洲国家。印度政府对于航天技术的重视也是显而易见。去年11月，莫迪政府决定废除最大面值的旧纸币，代之以新的2000卢比钞票，新纸币的正面是印度圣雄甘地，背面便是“曼加里安”号火星探测器。
“太空奥德赛：印度计划进军金星和火星”，《印度时报》13日称，印度计划不久后首次进军金星，并重访红色星球火星。印度政府在电子预算文件中透露了这两个大胆的星际计划。火星任务初步定于2021年至2022年，现有计划很可能是将一个遥控设备发射到火星表面。印度2013年第一颗火星探测器完全自主研发，此次法国希望与印度共同合作研制火星探测器。在2017年的预算中，印度航天部门资金已增加23%。在航天科学部分，预算规定用于“火星轨道探测器二代任务和金星任务”。文章称，新的火星任务可能是做良好的科学研究，因为上一次时带有民族主义倾向——击败中国的火星计划。
“中印竞争”正是印度及西方媒体喜欢炒作的一点。CNN15日题为“随着亚洲太空竞赛升温，印度着眼于卫星发射创纪录”的文章称，中印这两个争夺地区霸主地位的“对手”正在大力加速提升各自的太空实力，今后几年双方的竞争将更加激烈。
“德国之声”称，在美国和俄罗斯航天计划受到延缓之际，中国和印度两个世界人口最多的亚洲巨人加快了向太空迈进的步伐，并取得长足发展。中国和印度使得顶尖航天俱乐部进一步扩大，在太空探索方面取得巨大进步。澳大利亚航天专家莫里斯·琼斯表示，虽然印度也取得巨大的进步，但还明显落后于中国。虽然在卫星技术上可以和中国比肩，但是在火箭技术以及载人航天方面却进展不大。
“印度太空技术绝不是亚洲最强的”，英国《金融时报》引述专家的话称，“人们经常谈论亚洲太空竞赛，但是如果你仔细看，中国的太空项目要强许多”。英国《金融时报》15日称，印度对抢先中国将探测器送入火星轨道尤其感到骄傲，但专家认为，印度太空技术绝不是亚洲最强的。印度国防研究与分析所资深研究员艾杰·拉勒说，中国的太空项目要强许多，“更大，更有雄心，中国是和美国在竞争”。该报此前一篇文章详细对比了“亚洲的新太空竞赛”。报道称，中国在载人航天领域占据先机，印度在这方面难同中国竞争，而是采取现实态度致力于高性能卫星和太空探测器技术。今年上半年，中国将发射天舟一号货运飞船，这将成为中国向空间站运送补给的重要一步。此外，中国也有自己的月球和火星探测计划。文章认为，太空项目在提高国家声誉的同时，也促进了中国国内产业的发展，比如中国的北斗导航系统已经为本国317个城市提供服务，基于北斗的相关商业产值到2020年预计可达4000亿元人民币。
前述不便透露姓名的航天专家对《环球时报》记者说，中国已是航天大国，并没有把印度当成对手，也不会与印度进行所谓太空竞赛。我们是按照自己的目标，一步步推进。
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