2019 has been a very successful year for Indian space missions. But there’s a steady long way to go
Despite the public failure of India’s mission to land a probe on the lunar surface, 2019 has seen the country take massive strides in space exploration. Those who remember how Indian rockets used to blow up at every second launch not that long ago, are all amazed at how we have come. We have sent missions to the moon and Mars. Plans are afoot to have a manned spaceflight within the next five years. But the latest milestone by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is telling. The 49th flight of India’s PSLV rocket not only launched a new image-mapping satellite into the orbit but also carried 13 nano-satellites, barely much larger than a hardcover book. These are being used by smaller nations as well as research institutes across the world, who are exploring the final frontier as well. With the 13 satellites launched by PSLV C-47 — all from the US — India has now carried over 300 such for foreign nations. Even though we cannot compete with the commercial launch abilities of the US, Russia and the European Space Agency, we have carved out a niche for ourselves with our precision and cost-competitiveness. One that has resulted in a Rs 6,289 crore revenue for ISRO in the last three years. Besides CARTOSAT will address the needs of large-scale urban planning, rural resource and infrastructure development, coastal land use and cover. This data is of value to any policy-maker. We must, however, remain wary of the tremendous developments being worked on by private space entrepreneurs in the US, particularly Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, both of whom are driving organisations, making some critical breakthroughs in reusable space hardware. They will likely power the US’ future space endeavours as the general public across the world has begun to wonder why man abandoned the deep space exploration on the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon.
If there is an area where the Indian space missions could do better, it is to intensify collaboration with other space agencies. No Indian citizen has been into space since Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma in 1984. Although astronauts like Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Wlliams made it, they became American citizens. It is unfortunate that no Indian, or for that matter Chinese, has been to the International Space Station. Of course, as a cartoon in a global newspaper highlighted, there is still a horribly racist tinge to the way many foreign Governments look at India’s space ambitions. We have to be open to new ideas as well as technology. While there are some inherent risks, it would be silly to spend thousands of crores in duplicating technologies that have already been perfected in other nations. And while it might seem like a controversial idea to some, India could also look at collaborating with China, which is seemingly locked out of the Western space race, and jointly develop some projects. While ISRO is a matter of pride and our prudence with costs is a good thing, the fact is that given the economic times we are living in, we have to tighten our purse strings and make every rupee count for more. Collaboration with other nations as well as private organisations might not be a bad thing.