Today we draw inspiration, not from an individual but an organisation. The organisation is perhaps the most successful enterprise in the private or public sector in India. It is an organisation which has not only reached the skies but has also catapulted India's image and standing in the world. Yes, the organisation is ISRO or Indian Space Research Organisation. In this issue, we will talk about this organisation and how it has managed to make name for itself, in the face of all challenges.
Humble beginnings:
Indian Space Research Organisation, formed in 1969, superseded the erstwhile INCOSPAR (est. 1962). Dr Vikram Sarabhai was the person who identified the role and importance of space technology in a nation's development. He was instrumental in setting up of organisation and providing ISRO with the necessary direction to function as an agent of development. ISRO then embarked on its mission to provide the nation with space-based services and to develop the technologies to achieve the same independently.
The first major event for ISRO was on November 21, 1963, when it successfully launched the subcontinent’s first sounding rocket. The launch site was a small fishing village called Thumba in Kerala where the launch pad was made in a field of coconut trees. A local church served as the main office for scientists and the bishop's house and cattle shed became the workshop and the laboratory. The rocket parts and payloads were carried by the scientists on bicycles from one place to another.
The year 1975 marked a major milestone for ISRO as it built the country’s first indigenous satellite, Aryabhata, which was launched by the Soviet Union. In 1979, the major launching site of ISRO was shifted to Sriharikota, and shortly, in 1980, RS-1 became the first satellite to be put into orbit by an Indian launch vehicle, SLV-3. Although such feats were achieved by several other countries before this, it was significant progress for India’s young space programme.
Later ISRO designed India’s first communication satellite, APPLE, in 1981. The iconic photograph of APPLE being transported in a bullock cart is widely seen on social media. Apart from being simple and cost-effective, the wooden bullock cart also helped avoid interference of magnet-sensitive instruments with metal trucks! APPLE was subsequently used in several communication experiments including relay of TV programmes and radio networking. After this, the INSAT series of satellites developed by ISRO in the 80s and 90s went on to become the largest domestic communication system in the Asia Pacific Region.
Between 1979 and 1994, ISRO had experienced several failures in developing launch vehicles. However, the next series of launch vehicles, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLVs), achieved unprecedented success with 38 successful launches and only 1 failure in the last 24 years. It created a record in 2008 by launching 10 satellites in one launch, and again on 15th February 2017 by launching 104 satellites in one go. ISRO’s PSLV remains a favourite among various organisations from many countries who use it as a launch service provider. ISRO also successfully tested India’s first reusable launch vehicle in May 2016, that could potentially cut down launch costs by 10 times.
ISRO has had other ambitious projects beyond the earth as well. In 2008-09, ISRO successfully crash-landed Chandrayaan-1 on the surface of the moon using an indigenous PSLV. The mission confirmed the presence of water on the moon, making India the first nation in the world to do so, among its other achievements. In 2014, India became the first country to place an orbiter in Mars’ orbit in the first attempt through ISRO’s Mangalyaan Mission. At a total cost of 11% of NASA's MARS mission, it was also cheaper than what it cost to produce the movie Interstellar.
In March 2019, India announced that it had tested an Anti-satellite weapon in an operation codenamed Mission Shakti. The announcement was made by PM Modi himself in a much anticipated televised address to the nation. Recently the Chandrayaan 2 lunar mission was launched and the event was widely followed by everyone. The mission will boldly go where no country has ever gone before – the Moon's south polar region and make a soft landing using home-grown technology. If successful, it will make India the fourth country in the world to ever soft-land on the moon.
Isro’s success is despite the fact that for a large part of the first four decades, it has had to cope with the pressure of sanctions which denied it access to cutting edge technology. Instead of crying about it, ISRO has gone about developing the technology indigenously. Much of the technology that ISRO today uses is developed indigenously. Another big challenge has been the budget of ISRO which is nowhere comparable to that of the western countries. This made ISRO focused on minimising costs, bringing efficiency and finding innovative solutions to its' challenges. Owing to these sustained efforts, ISRO is today the world's cheapest satellite launch service provider in the world and its' missions are also among the most cost-effective.
Contribution of ISRO:
The vision of ISRO is to “harness space technology for national development while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration." Indeed, throughout the years, ISRO has upheld its mission of bringing space to the service of the common man, to the service of the Nation. In the process, it has become one of the five largest space agencies in the world. ISRO maintains one of the largest fleet of communication satellites (INSAT) and remote sensing (IRS) satellites, that cater to the ever-growing demand for fast and reliable communication and earth observation respectively.
ISRO has delivered great service of the nation and is perhaps the most important service provider to the country and us all. It is because of ISRO that today we have our communications systems, broadcasts, weather forecasts, disaster management tools, Geographic Information Systems, navigation, telemedicine, dedicated distance education satellites and so much more. Till date, ISRO has completed 105 spacecraft missions, 75 launch missions and put nearly 300 foreign satellites of 33 countries in space.
With the achievements, ISRO has surpassed all expectations and has brought immense pride to Indians. What further inspires us is how a dedicated team of individuals have performed over many years in the face of all the challenges before it. We humbly congratulate the scientists, engineers, staff and everyone associated with ISRO for their outstanding success streak and wishes them the best for their future endeavours.
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