Isro rounds up 2014 with worthy achievement
Having successfully tested its most powerful satellite launch vehicle on Thursday, the Indian Space Research Organisation has rounded up for itself, and the nation, an extraordinary year in space exploration. Thursday's test has enormous potential for the country's space business aspirations and also lays the ground for India’s first manned mission. In the past 12 months, the agency has successfully engineered at least five major missions, and each of these has contributed significantly to the advance of science and technology and the well-being of the people. Isro's biggest accomplshment this year was, of course, the successful entry of its Mars orbiter into the red planet's orbit in September. This made India the first country to have completed the mission on its first attempt, and the only Asian country with a successful Mars orbiter mission.
Also, the low cost of the mission won India and Isro much praise. Indeed, the space agency had begun the year with a bang. In January, it launched the advanced communication satellite GSAT-14 which is designed for broadcasting television, tele-medicine and tele-education programmes. But that is not all: The launch vehicle was powered by a cryogenic rocket that had been built entirely at home. The knowhow for such rockets is available with only a handful of nations and it took India almost two decades to script itself a victory in this field. later in April, Isro successfully launched India's second navigational satellite IRNSS-1B while was followed by the launch of the third satellite, IRNSS-IC, in October. Together with IRNSS-1A, launched in 2013, the three satellites are part of a seven satellite programme that, once operational in 2015, will allow India to have its own GPS system.
Another important achievement for Isro in 2014 was the ‘five-in-one' launch — wherein the agency successfully sent to space five satellites from different countries in one mission. The mission was important not only from a technological but also from a commercial point of view. Space business is a lucrative, multi-billion dollar industry that is currently dominated by Western powers. There is much scope for India to carve a niche for itself, thanks to its relatively low-cost technology, which can be particularly beneficial for countries in the global South. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already highlighted the possibility of India building a satellite that could be jointly used by all its South Asian neighbours. It is against this backdrop that Thursday's launch gains greater prominence. India's current satellite launch vehicles are not powerful enough to carry larger payloads, thereby restricting the country's commercial opportunities. But the Geosynchronous Satellite launch Vehicle, which will be able to put satellites weighing upto four tonnes in space, can be a game-changer. Isro has been struggling with this vehicle for a while, but now there is reason to hope that the agency is close to mastering the technology.