The philosophy of the Indian space programme is best summed up in the following word of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai chairman ,Indian space research organization (ISRO).
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"We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nation in the exploration of the Moon or the planets or manned space fight. But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally , and in the community of nations , we must be second to none in the application in the advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society. "
india's space voyage commenced in the 1960s with the setting up of Thumba Equatorial rocket lunching station (TERLS ) in Kerala ,but sanctions imposed by the west in the wake of India's nuclear test at Pokhran in Rajasthan in 1974 hobbled it , forcing ISRO to reinvent technologies it could no longer buy.
In furtherance to Dr. Sarabhai's vision , each mission was undertaken with infrastructural or developmental objectives . ultimately ,this has given India an advantage over countries. today topographic and hydrological iterations of image from our six remote sensing satellites help pinpoint ground water reserves ,doubling the success rate for drilling wells to 90%. Indian national Satellites , the (INSATs ) also help to predict cyclone in advance . India's eight communication satellites the biggest civilian system in the Asia-Pacific , provide television coverage to 90% of our popullation and cater to 35,000 India based commercial customers .
Our EDUSAT ,the world's first for education , aims to create distance learning network. ISRO chairman ,Mr. Madhvan Nair proudly declares " India is perhaps teh only country where the social needs are meet by the space programme in the cost effective manner and the services are reaching needy" .ISRO has also provided technical expertise to the Arab satellite communication organization ( Arabsat ) and has singed a collaborative space research agreement with Ukraine .
The launch of Belgain 'PROBA' and german 'BIRD ' satellites in may 2005 ,heralded India's advent as a commercial space launcher . India also launch on indonesian micro-satellite in addition to a Russian GLONASS satellite.In a market dominated by Russia , the US , Europe , and China , ISRO's fully commercial launch of italian satellite 'Agile' heralded the culmination of Dr. Sarabhai's vision , a befitting tribute to the father of India's space programme ,at ime of his 90th birth anniversary .
As ISRO's five meter resolution image began surpassing from the SPOT and landsat satellite s of the US , in quality , , the US played the economical card , dropping tis rate from 15 cents per sq. k.m. to 2 cents per sq . k.m. . Twelve successive successful launches in as many year have demonstrated the reliability of our GLSV's and PSLV's . India hosts the United nations regional center for space science and technology education for training personnel from developing countries in space application under the 'SHARES ' ( sharing of experinence in space programme ) .
In 1997 , india and US signed a memorundem of understanding for data exchange between NASA's earth science enterprise and national oceanic and atmospheric administration's (NOAA ) environmental satellites , and India's INSAT and kalpana satellite constellations. 'Space ' is projected as a key area of engagement between India and US in the ' next steps in strategic partnership ' (NSSP ). A technology safeguard agreement for space cooperation is also on the cards.
India's niche in the space market as a high - quality , low cost facilitator could then place it at the forefront of this century's space race . the prospect of the geosynchronous data elevator transforming space into a bottomless back office for our IT industry augurs well for our information economy and provides further for ISRO to surge ahead .
Imagine : on 12th july 2019 ,as America celebrates the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's 'small step for a man ' and Chandrayan -v touches downs Tranquility Base . In ' a giant leap ' for India , an Indian astronaut unfurls the Indian tricolour alongside America's 50 -year-old flag . he then stand -s in attention to Jana-gana-mana...........................................................
The way India is emerging power as a space power , one can almost hear him chant .
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