India’s space community has achieved remarkable progress in the realm of space exploration. The scientific community has been consistently performing and it is a matter of immense pride that India is part of an exclusive club. Giving further impetus to the space programmes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given it a new direction exhorting space scientists to come up with programmes that would benefit the immediate neighbourhood – the SAARC countries and also be a global launcher for satellites.

At the successful launch of five foreign satellites from four countries on board Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C-23 rocket from Sriharikota, the Prime Minister called upon the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to develop a SAARC satellite. ISRO has so far launched 35 satellites from 19 countries like Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Singapore, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Turkey and United Kingdom.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is known to work long hours, has been taking exceptional interest in defence, space and other programmes which would further boost India’s standing in the comity of nations. Referring to space programmes, starting with scientists transporting rocket components on bicycles, he said India had come a long way. A visibly elated Modi, who said it was a ‘privilege’ to witness the event, congratulated our brilliant space scientists for a successful launch. “This fills every Indian’s heart with pride and I can see the joy reflected on your face,” he said from the Mission Control Room, adding today’s successful launch of foreign satellites was a “global endorsement of India’s space capability”.

Fully Indigenous

Modi said “We can be proud of the Indian space programme, which is fully indigenous, developed in the face of great international pressure and hurdles”. He described it as a domain where “we have pushed beyond mediocrity to achieve excellence.” He said the moon mission was inspired by the vision of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. Referring to the benefits of space technology for the common man, the Prime Minister said it drives modern communication, empowers children in remote villages with quality education and ensures quality healthcare to all, through telemedicine. He said it has a critical role in realising the vision of a Digital India, the power of 125 crore connected Indians.

ISRO’s PSLV C-23 launch successful

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is a four-stage space vehicle that employs solid and liquid propulsion systems alternately in its four stages. The launch system was designed and developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) in the 1990s and has the capability to insert Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites into Sun synchronous orbit as also to launch small size satellites into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). As of 2014, ISRO has launched a total of 65 satellites with the PSLV. Of these, 35 have been launched for 19 countries around the globe including Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Singapore, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Turkey and United Kingdom.

The PSLV has proved itself to be the most successful launch vehicle that ISRO has designed and developed till date. To quote G. Madhavan Nair, a former Chairman of ISRO , “The PSLV C-23 is one of world’s most reliable space launch vehicles”. The success rate has indeed been impressive with the PSLV recording 26 consecutively successful flights out of the 27 launches so far. Some of the noteworthy payloads carried into space by the PSLV include India’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe and the Mars Orbiter Mission. Compared to other segments of the Indian aerospace industry, the space sector has performed extraordinarily well.

ISRO’s feat in space on June 30 was the 27th launch of the PSLV and was carried out with textbook precision. The PSLV C-23 placed all five satellites into their intended orbits, one after the other between 17 and 19 minutes after liftoff. A space launch of this type would normally have been a routine affair; but this particular event acquired special significance with the presence on site of the newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi to personally witness the launch instead of watching it on television in Delhi. While heaping praise on the Indian scientific community, the Prime Minister described the successful mission as a “global endorsement of India’s space capability”. He also defined a roadmap for the Indian space scientists to aim for leadership in the regime of space technology and develop a satellite for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SARC) nations. The Prime Minister urged ISRO to enlarge the footprint of its navigation systems to all of South Asia and went on to advise the scientific community on the need to develop capabilities to launch heavier satellites with the aim to become the launch service provider of the world.

India’s space endeavour has indeed come a long way from the humble beginnings when rockets were transported on carriers of bicycles. Today, with the impressive track record of the most reliable workhorse, the PSLV, ISRO is in a position to compete with the major players in the field and capture a sizeable part of the global satellite launch market that is estimated to be around $55 billion over the next ten years. A unique feature of the Indian space programme is that compared with the leading players, ISRO’s projects are relatively most cost-effective. “Our scientists have shown the world a new paradigm of frugal engineering and the power of imagination,” said the Prime Minister. Stressing that space technology is for the common man and not just for the elite, Modi made a pitch for India to be the world’s low-cost space technology.

Not forgetting his primary national agenda of development, Prime Minister Modi laid stress on the need for technological innovations and said, “Technology is central to development. It touches one and all and is an important instrument of progress of our nation. Such technology is fundamentally connected with the common man and as an agent of change, it can empower and connect to transform his life. Continued progress in space therefore must remain a national mission”.

Recounting the ways in which space technology impacts the masses in India, Prime Minister Modi said that technology had a critical role in realising the vision of a Digital India – the power of 125 crore connected Indians. GIS technology had transformed policy planning, implementation and space imaging enabled modern management, conservation of water resources and had also evolved into an invaluable asset in disaster management. Said the Prime Minister: “India’s space programme is a perfect example of my vision of Scale, Speed and Skill and is driven by a vision of service to humanity and not by a desire for power”. The challenge before ISRO is to live up to the expectations of the nation.

—By Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey

In Sync with ‘Scale, Speed and Skill’

Thanking the Department of Space and commending Dr K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, ISRO, for his leadership, Modi said India’s space programme is a perfect example of my vision of ‘Scale, Speed and Skill’. “Technology is central to development. It touches one and all, and is an important instrument of our national progress. Could we also think of developing a state-ofthe-art, interactive, digital space museum?”

“India has the potential, to be the launch service provider of the world. We must work towards this goal. Continued progress in space must remain a national mission. We must keep enhancing our space capabilities. I also ask you, to enlarge the footprint of our satellite-based navigation system, to cover all of South Asia. Today, I ask our space community, to take up the challenge, of developing a SAARC satellite. India’s space programme is driven by a vision of service to humanity, not by a desire of power.”

Space Science in Governance

He urged the department of space to proactively engage with all stakeholders, to maximise use of space science in governance and development. Accurate advance warning, and tracking of Cyclone Phailin, saved countless lives recently. Space technology has evolved into an invaluable asset in disaster management. GIS technology has transformed policy planning, implementation. Space imaging enables modern management, conservation of water resources. “Our ancestors had conceived of ideas like ‘shunya’ (zero) and ‘flying objects’, long before others. Our space journey has come a long way from the humble beginnings. We are proud that our programme is indigenous. Generations of scientists have worked to make India a self-reliant space power.”

The Prime Minister said continued progress in space must remain a mission of high priority. He called for developing more advanced satellites and expanding our satellite footprint. India has the potential to be the launch service provider of the world and must work towards this goal. Modi spoke of the “tapasya” made by generations of scientists, in a long journey from Upanishad to Upagrah. He remarked that he had met four generations of scientists during his visit to ISRO.

‘Yeh Dil Maange More’

Referencing a 1999 Kargil war hero’s famous slogan, the Prime Minister said, “We have done a lot but “yeh dil maange more” (the heart wants more). I have proposed to our scientists that they develop a SAARC satellite. This will help all our neighbours.”

Scientists said the Prime Minister’s speech reinforces that he is a space buff. When he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Modi had visited the state’s remote sensing centre a record 50 times. Sources close to him say he is keen on ways of harnessing space technology in agriculture and other fields. Earlier, India used to buy images from countries like the US and France. The latest launch reinforces India’s success in launching satellites for the West; they are also buying remote sensing images from India. Later this year India has agreed to take on the first test flight of its monster rocket geosynchronous launch vehicle (GSLV) MK III, which will carry as an experiment, India’s first crew module.

After a perfect lift off from the first launch pad in Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 9.52 a.m. on June 30, 2014, ISRO’s workhorse PSLV C-23 placed all five satellites into their intended orbits, one after the other between 17 and 19 minutes after liftoff, in textbook precision. Though the Mission Readiness Review Committee and Launch Authorisation Board had cleared the launch, the launch time was rescheduled to 9.52 a.m., a delay of three minutes, attributed to “probable space debris” coming in the rocket’s way.

Besides its primary payload of 714 kg French Earth Observation Satellite SPOT-7, PSLV C-23 carried and placed in orbit 14 kg AISAT of Germany, NLS7.1 (CAN-X4) and NLS7.2 (CAN-X5) of Canada each weighing 15 kg and the 7 kg VELOX-1 of Singapore. These five satellites were launched under commercial arrangements that ANTRIX has entered with the respective foreign agencies. The Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs M. Venkaiah Naidu, the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Dr Jitendra Singh, Secretary Space Dr Radhakrishnan, eminent scientists Professor U.R. Rao and Dr Kasturirangan were present on the occasion.