- Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) has "done its job," said ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar.
- The 320-tonne PSLV C-34 carried 17 foreign small satellites from Canada, Indonesia, Germany and the US but the main passenger was a 727-kg Indian earth observation satellite called Cartosat, which can take high-resolution images.
- The launch also placed into orbit two Indian academic community-built satellites, Sathyabhamasat and Swayam.
- 13 US-made small satellites have also been placed in orbit. These include an earth imaging satellite made by Terra Bella, a Google-owned company. The 110 kg Google satellite called SkySat Gen- 2 is capable of taking very high-resolution images and high-definition video.
- The launch of the 20 satellites, weighing about 1,288 kg, cost about half of what is incurred by other space agencies.
- Congratulating scientists, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, "20 satellites in a go! @isro continues to break new barriers."
- India's Cartosat-2 Series is similar to the earlier Cartosat-2, 2A and 2B. The images sent by Cartosat satellite will be useful for cartographic, urban, rural, coastal land use, water distribution and other applications.
- Launching 20 satellites in a single mission is like "allowing birds to fly in space", the ISRO chairman had earlier told NDTV."Each of these small objects that you are putting into space will carry out their own activity, which is independent of the other, and each of them will live a wonderful life for a finite period for which they have been designed," Dr. Kumar had said.
- This is the first time ISRO has launched more than 10 satellites with a single rocket. In 2008, it flew 10 satellites. Currently, Russia holds the world record for placing the most number of satellites in a single launch. Its Dnepr rocket launched 37 satellites in 2014.
- Till now, ISRO has launched 74 satellites for foreign vendors from about 20 countries, earning about $ 100 million in the bargain.
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