ISRO earns $279 million in foreign exchange thru satellite launches

New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), through its commercial arms, has earned USD279 million in foreign exchange by launching satellites for global clients, Union Minister Jitendra Singh told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a question, Singh said ISRO in association with its commercial arms has successfully launched 345 foreign satellites from 34 countries on-board Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

"Total foreign exchange revenue earned through launching of foreign satellites amounts to USD 56 million (one million=10 lakhs) and 220 million Euros approximately," Singh said, without mentioning any time-frame for such launches.

As per current exchange rates, 220 million euros are equivalent to 223 million dollars.

The latest PSLV mission was on June 30 when ISRO's warhorse launch vehicle placed three Singaporean satellites into orbit.

PSLV-C53 mission by ISRO, successfully launched three Singapore customer satellites namely DS-EO, NeuSAR and SCOOB-1.

The PSLV-C53 was the second dedicated commercial mission for NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), a Central Public Sector Enterprise under administrative control of the Department of Space (DOS), Singh said.