Mann Ki Baat: PM Lauds young scientists

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lauded scientists in the country saying, "Today, our space programme is powered by several young scientists".

"We must take pride in the fact that the satellites developed by our students are reaching the space today. On 24 January Kalam SAT, created by our students, was launched," he added.

Addressing the first Mann Ki Baat of 2019, the Prime Minister expressed pride and said that India has also created a world record for launching 104 satellites simultaneously from the same spacecraft.

He said that the country will soon register India’s presence on the moon through the Chandrayaan-2 campaign.

India successfully launched its 46th flight of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C44) carrying Kalam SAT, a communication satellite developed by students and India's military satellite Microsat-R from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

The launch of the satellite is said to be unique as PSLV-C44 fourth stage was re-used automatically to launch Kalamsat payload and Microsat-R satellite into space from the First Launch Pad (FLP). PSLV is a four-stage launch vehicle with alternating solid and liquid stages.

The PSLV with two strap-on configuration was identified for this mission and the configuration is designated as PSLV-DL.