STAR TREK ON A SHOESTRING

From humble beginnings, India’s space programme, a story of vision, indigenisation, austerity and success, is now on the cusp of evolution. The next 10 years, pegged as a decade of space globally, is set to be choc-a-bloc with Indian milestones

- Chethan Kumar

On October 18, 2021, Isro performed a collision avoidance manoeuvre in a lunar orbit to prevent the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter from crashing into Nasa’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. That such a manoeuvre was required around the Moon — where the number of objects is very low unlike the hundreds in the Low Earth Orbit —surprised many. But it was a matter of pride for India that among the very few spacecraft there was one it had launched.

Notwithstanding the failure to soft-land the lander, Chandrayaan-2 was indicative of India’s capabilities. From humble beginnings at a church, India’s space programme now boasts of one of the largest fleets of communication and remote sensing satellites, application-specific satellite products and tools — for broadcast, communication, weather forecast, disaster management, GIS, cartography, navigation, telemedicine, distance education — two largely successful class of launch vehicles (PSLV & GSLV), Moon and Mars missions...

The space programme is undoubtedly among the brightest stars in the constellation of India’s feats in science. That this was achieved on shoestring budgets incomparable with big space faring nations makes the success sweeter: recall the famous comparison of the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) costing less than a Hollywood flick.

India’s overall space expenditure in 2019 was $1.8 billion, 10 times less than the US ($19.5 billion) and six times less than China ($11 billion). In 2022, India’s space programme will complete 60 years. From being synonymous with the government, it’s now opening up to enable private enterprises to participate in end-toend activities.