BENGALURU: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman A S Kiran Kumar said that the impending launch of the Astrosat satellite on September 28 with four American micro satellites is a matter of significance.
He was speaking at the sixth annual Prof Satish Dhawan Commemorative Lecture at the Institute of Engineers India (IEI) on Monday.
“The Astrosat will be launched on September 28, and will carry six micro satellites. This is a significant step, as till recently, the US prevented sending their components into space on a vehicle belonging to another country. This is a good thing. To that extent, things are changing. We are also working with the Americans for a 2021 launch of a major satellite - the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar,” he said, adding that the Astrosat is one of the first satellites to be launched for the research community to carry out studies.