India's space agency will launch a record 22 satellites on a single rocket as it tries to ease a global backlog and demonstrate the ability to compete with commercial spaceflight companies run by billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.
Satellites from the United States, India, Canada and Germany will enter orbit after a scheduled June 20 liftoff from the Sriharikota barrier island along the southeast coast, the agency's chairman, A.S. Kiran Kumar, said in an interview in Bengaluru. Most of the machines will observe and measure the Earth's atmosphere, with another from an Indian university helping provide service for amateur radio operators.
The business of putting satellites into space is surging as phone companies, internet providers, airlines and even carmakers seek bandwidth for communications. The resulting backlog is creating opportunities for Musk and Bezos, who are privatizing what was once a government-only industry by testing reusable rockets to help reduce costs. To keep pace, India is touting its traditionally low-cost program along with achievements such as putting an orbiter around Mars and building a space shuttle prototype.