TO THE MOON AND BACK!

FROM CHANDRAYAAN-3 TO KAKINADA: HOW ONE WOMAN-LED STARTUP IS ENABLING ROCKET LAUNCHES TO DEEP SEA-EXPLORATIONS

- RACHEL CHITRA

On July 14, 2023, India made history. It became the first country to send a mission to the far side of the moon. And at a fraction of the cost of many Hollywood movies on space. For instance, the Chandrayaan-3 launch cost the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), a reported $74 million, which is less than half the cost of the Hollywood space movie Interstellar, produced at a budget of $165 million.

And some of the elements that were key to keeping costs down was ISRO’s choice to use home-grown technology. Technology like the one created by Chennai-based Dhvani Research (“Dhvani” being the Sanskrit word for sound; and given much of this startup’s technology relies on sound waves for testing equipment).

Founded in 2010, Dhvani Research designed and installed an ultrasonic non-destructive testing (NDT) inspection system for ISRO. How this works is - for large components of a space rocket; instead of dismantling it piece by piece to check for small fissures and cracks - Dhvani Research’s customised system helps in noninvasive testing by sound. Or in simpler, layman language, what Dhvani did was ensure the safety and soundness of key components in Chandrayaan-3.

And in a triumph of women-led STEM powerhousing, it wasn’t just ISRO which had a team of women scientists manning Chandrayaan-3 but also Dhvani Research; which is headed by its brilliant female co-founder Sujatha Chakravarthy. Other cofounders include IIT Professor Krishnan Balasubramanian, KS Venkataraman and KS Vivekanand.