The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch four foreign satellites this year as the organization seeks to make further inroads into the international satellite-building and launch services market in 2009.

Two weeks ago, communication satellite, W2M, built by ISRO on a commercial basis in partnership with EADS-Astrium of Europe, was successfully launched by the European Ariane-5 launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou in French Guiana. K R Sridhara Murthy, Managing Director of Antrix Corporation Ltd. (the commercial arm of ISRO) said the Indian space agency is gearing up to launch four satellites for Singapore, the Netherlands, Italy, and Algeria. Contractual obligations bar ISRO from talking about the specific launch price, but Murthy stated that the space agency's charge per kg of satellite (to be launched) is around 20,000 euro per kg, which is less expensive than prevailing International prices. Murthy also stressed the launch price is guided by competition, market conditions, and demand-supply scenario. No launch dates have as yet been announced, as of this writing.