"Our domestic requirement is four to five launches per year and we are trying to increase commercial launches. Our costs are about 80 per cent of international launching costs. But some coutries have restrictions about launching their satellites with Indian launch vehicles," ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair told reporters here after receiving the Ramomohan Puraskar, 2008.
Isro, which last month launched the PSLV C-9 with two satellites CARTOSAT-2A and IMS-1 with eight nanosatellites, has become the world's second country after Russia to launch multi-satellites with Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles.
According to Nair, some advanced countries were wary of using Indian launch vehicles on the plea that those were of 'dual use' nature. They were, therefore, not willing to provide information regarding payload and other related matters.
He said Isro was negotiating with various agencies and governments for removal of the restriction. "If this can be done it will certainly bring in more revenue."
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To a question, he said preparations of Chandrayan-1, India's first unmanned mission to the Moon, was well proceeding on schedule and its launch was expected in the third quarter of this year.
Stating that the satellite would be in orbit for two years, Nair said that during its orbit it would take pictures in phases of the lunar surface and look for the possibility of the existence of water and special elements like Helium-3.