ISRO to double satellite launches

India is planning to double its annual satellite launches in a $2 billion exercise spread over the next five years as it moves to take advantage of booming demand for capacity, according to top officials of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

New Delhi has targeted to boost the number of transponders India currently has from 199 to 500 by the end of the 11th Plan (March 2012), G Madhavan Nair, secretary, Department of Space said. "On the average, we may have about four to five launches in a year compared to hardly two that we are (currently) doing annually," Nair, who is also the chairman of ISRO and the Space Commission, told PTI.

"That's one of the major loads not only on ISRO but on industry and other establishments in the country", he added.

ISRO officials estimate the cost involved in building satellites and launching them in the region of Rs 8,000-9,000 crore (approximately $2-2.25 billion).

Bangalore-headquartered ISRO is planning to launch as many as 15 INSAT-class satellites and 8-10 remote sensing spacecraft by 2012 as it moves to stay ahead of the demand curve. (Reporting by Ramnath Shenoy from Bangalore)