ISRO holds 5% share in global satellite manufacturing industry
By Venkatachari Jagannath | 12 Aug 2003
Mumbai:
Indian
Space Research Organisation (ISRO) ranks third in the
world in manufacturing satellites. According to the
US-based Futron Corporation, ISRO, till July 2003, has
manufactured two satellites out of the 39 made in the
world this year.
Leading
the pack are Lockheed Martin and Orbital with five satellites
(13 per cent market share) each. Four organisations
rank second, making three satellites each and enjoy
a market share of 8 per cent. This year 33 launches
were made by the global satellite launch industry.
India launched two satellites this year (G-Sat by Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle D2 and Insat-3A by Ariane5). The month-end is likely to see the launch of Insat-3E, ISRO's latest communication satellite by Ariane. Insat-3E is the fourth satellite to be launched in the Insat-3 series.
Insat-3A,
Insat-3B and Insat-3C have already been commissioned
and Insat-3D, an advanced meteorological satellite,
will be launched during 2004-05. In addition, ISRO has
plans to launch a couple of more satellites this fiscal.