SRIHARIKOTA (ANDHRA PRADESH): India's space agency ISRO launched a record 104 satellites on a single rocket from the Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh today.India has become the first country to carry so many satellites in a single mission. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C37 is the star of what has been described as an incredible step for the country's space programme. It tore into the sky at 9.28 am, breaking free of the earth's gravitational pull with a growl. The countdown began 28 hours ago, says ISRO or the Indian Space Research Organisation.

ISRO hurled into space using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle three Indian satellites and 101 small foreign satellites.
No other country has ever tried to hit a century ie launch 100+ satellites in a single mission.
The last world record is held by Russia which in 2014 rocketed 37 satellites in a single launch using a modified inter-continental ballistic missile.

The PSLV is carrying a 714 kg main satellite for earth observation and 103 smaller ‘nano satellites’ which would weigh a combined 664 kg. In total, the entire launch will be carrying a satellite mass of about 1,378 kg.Of the 101 co-passenger satellites, 96 of these belong to USA, and one each are from ISRO’s international customers Israel, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Switzerland and United Arab Emirates.Two of India’s nano satellites, weighing about 30 kg, will also piggyback off the rocket.A majority of the satellites have earth-imaging capability and belong to a US company named Planet.An Indian cartographic satellite, believed to be capable of taking high resolution images is also on board. It is expected to be used to monitor regional arch rivals Pakistan and China.

Here's your 10-point cheat sheet to the story:

1.In about 18 minutes, all 101 satellites was released into space, each travelling at the speed of over 27,000 km per hour - 40 times the speed of an average passenger airline.

2.India's workhorse rocket PSLV-C37 is on its 39th mission. Among the 104 satellites are many belonging to international customers.

3.This is the heaviest version of the PSLV, weighing about 320 tonnes at lift-off and standing tall at 44.4 meters.

4.The main passenger is the Earth-mapping Cartosat 2 series satellite, which weighs 714 kg.

5.The smaller satellites belong to the US, Israel, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates will be launched. 96 of the satellites belong to the US.

6.Close to 90 small satellites named 'Doves' belong to one San Francisco-based company, Planet Inc. The Dove constellation will be used to image the earth at low cost.

7.Two ISRO-made Nano satellites belonging to international customers were also launched. They weigh about 1,378 kg.

8.The PSLV first launched the Cartosat-2 and then its 103 co-passengers into the polar Sun Synchronous Orbit, about 520 km from the Earth.

9.In 2014, the Russian Space Agency has launched 37 satellites in one go.

10.This is ISRO's second successful attempt after the launch of 23 satellites in a single rocket in June 2015.

the successful launch is yet another feather in the cap of India's ambitious space programme that has earned a reputation of offering a reliable low cost alternative to existing international players.
The Indian government has increased the budget for its space programme this year and also announced plans to send a mission to Venus.
Over the past two decades, India has become a key player in the lucrative commercial space market offering a low-cost alternative.

ISRO also used its own Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) satellites for orbit determination on Wednesday’s mission instead of the US Global Positioning System (GPS) as has been used on previous launches.

pic 1 Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C37
pic 2 Planet american company cheering for PSLV-XL launch, they had 88 cubesats in the payload

Indians are really going places.

Israeli satellite which was one of the payloads

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4DzTJpfLVc


Footage of ISRO India Rocket PSLV C37 Releasing 104 Satellites (recorded through onboard camera)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvJYSmplzXc

another video of ISRO India Rocket PSLV C37 Releasing 104 Satellites in space