NEW DELHI: An Indian rocket on Monday placed domestic and foreign satellites in three different orbits on a single flight, a first for the nation and a low-cost option that could burnish its reputation for pioneering affordable options in space.
The launch of a domestic intelligence satellite and 28 foreign ones came less than a week after India used an anti-satellite missile to take down one of its own satellites, demonstrating a capability only China, Russia and the United States had possessed previously.
The state-run Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said 24 satellites from the United States, two from Lithuania and one each from Spain and Switzerland were positioned in Monday’s launch, in addition to India’s EMISAT satellite.
“This particular mission is very special for ISRO,” its chairman, K. Sivan, said after the launch from India’s southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh.
“This is for the first time the PSLV is carrying out three orbital missions in a single flight,” he said in a speech, referring to the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle family of rockets.
Sivan, who previously told media the “three-in-one” launch would help cut costs, said the agency aimed to complete 30 more missions this year, including India’s second lunar exploration program known as the Chandrayaan-2.
Among the satellites in Monday’s launch are 20 earth-imaging satellites of Planet Labs Inc, a private satellite operator based in San Francisco.
Two of the satellites, one from Lithuania and another from Switzerland, will be used for the “Internet of Things,” or connecting physical devices to the Web, the agency added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the agency on the launch and said his government was working on raising citizens’ interest in science and their respect for scientists.
ISRO wants companies such as state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. and Mumbai-based conglomerate Larsen & Toubro to build its rockets in future.
Last year India said it expected to spend less than 100 billion rupees ($1.4 billion) on its first manned space mission to be launched by 2022, suggesting it is likely to be cheaper than similar projects by the United States and China.
India’s 2014 launch of an unmanned Mars mission cost $74 million, just a fraction of the $671 million spent by US space agency NASA on its MAVEN Mars mission.
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Single Indian rocket puts satellites in three orbits, in first for nation
Single Indian rocket puts satellites in three orbits, in first for nation
- India became the fourth country last week to shoot down a satellite
- The country hopes to complete its second lunar exploration program this year
At least 25 killed in militant attacks in northeast Nigeria
- Attacks in the towns of Madagali and Hong in the border region with Cameroon, were attributed to Boko Haram militants
- Since 2009, the militant insurgency in Nigeria has left more than 40,000 dead and two million displaced
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria: At least 25 people were killed in two separate militant attacks in northeastern Nigeria’s Adamawa state, local sources said on Thursday.
The attacks in the towns of Madagali and Hong in the border region with Cameroon, were attributed to Boko Haram militants, whose fighters have been active in the area since the group began its violent insurgency in 2009.
“Gunmen we believed to be Boko Haram on many motorcycles … attacked the market. They opened fire on people and killed 21,” a Madagali local government official said about the Tuesday evening attack, on the condition of anonymity.
“We are still searching for more bodies as some might have died in the bush from gunshot wounds while trying to find safety.”
The attackers also looted a market and stole food items and motorcycles, the source said.
Four others, including three troops, were killed in neighboring Hong, resident Ezekiel Musa said.
“Boko Haram attacked us after they left the town. We saw the corpses of three soldiers and one woman was killed,” Musa said.
“Now the town has security personnel but some of us have already started leaving the town because of fear of what happened.”
State governor Adamu Umaru Fintiri condemned the attack without providing an official toll in a statement.
“We will not let terrorists undermine our efforts to restore peace and stability,” the statement said. “I warn perpetrators: desist from these senseless attacks or face the full weight of our collective resolve.”
Since 2009, the militant insurgency in Nigeria, led primarily by Boko Haram and its rival faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has left more than 40,000 dead and two million displaced in the northeast of the country, according to the UN.
The conflict has spread to neighboring Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, prompting the formation of a regional military coalition to fight these groups.
The attacks in the towns of Madagali and Hong in the border region with Cameroon, were attributed to Boko Haram militants, whose fighters have been active in the area since the group began its violent insurgency in 2009.
“Gunmen we believed to be Boko Haram on many motorcycles … attacked the market. They opened fire on people and killed 21,” a Madagali local government official said about the Tuesday evening attack, on the condition of anonymity.
“We are still searching for more bodies as some might have died in the bush from gunshot wounds while trying to find safety.”
The attackers also looted a market and stole food items and motorcycles, the source said.
Four others, including three troops, were killed in neighboring Hong, resident Ezekiel Musa said.
“Boko Haram attacked us after they left the town. We saw the corpses of three soldiers and one woman was killed,” Musa said.
“Now the town has security personnel but some of us have already started leaving the town because of fear of what happened.”
State governor Adamu Umaru Fintiri condemned the attack without providing an official toll in a statement.
“We will not let terrorists undermine our efforts to restore peace and stability,” the statement said. “I warn perpetrators: desist from these senseless attacks or face the full weight of our collective resolve.”
Since 2009, the militant insurgency in Nigeria, led primarily by Boko Haram and its rival faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has left more than 40,000 dead and two million displaced in the northeast of the country, according to the UN.
The conflict has spread to neighboring Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, prompting the formation of a regional military coalition to fight these groups.
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