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India’s Space Program: A backgrounder
- Inception: Indian Space Programme began with the vision of Dr Vikram Sarabhai that we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies for the benefit of society.
- Formation of INCOIS: It was with the formation of the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) in 1962.
- First rocket into space: It was followed by the first sounding rocket launch from Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station in 1963 that the space programme formally took off.
- Establishment of ISRO: The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was formed in 1969, superseding INCOSPAR.
- Separate department: With the establishment of the Space Commission and the Department of Space (DOS) in 1972, ISRO was brought under DOS.
Organizations associated with ISRO
- Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Trivandrum: Hub for sounding rockets, solid propellants, etc.
- Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad: Payload development and related electronics
Journey of ISRO
[A] Satellites
(1) Launching of a Satellite
- India’s first satellite Aryabhata, which was launched on 19 April 1975, from a launch centre in the former Soviet Union.
- Later, Bhaskara-I and II, the two experimental earth observation satellites, provided the confidence to build complex operational remote sensing satellites.
(2) Communication satellites
- APPLE- Ariane Passenger PayLoad Experiment was India’s first experimental communication satellite.
- These satellites were launched free-of-cost, which reflects India’s successful international space cooperation policy.
(3) INSAT Program
- Two further significant satellite communication experiments were SITE– Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (1975-76) and STEP– Satellite Telecommunication Experimental Project (1977)
- This paved the way for INSAT (Indian National Satellite) series of satellites.
[B] Transportation Modules
(1) SLV
- In the space transportation domain, the commissioning of the Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3) project in the early 1970s was the first indigenous experimental satellite launch vehicle.
- As a four stage, all solid, launch vehicle, SLV-3 had its successful launch in July 1980, thrusting India into the select league of six countries with the capability to launch satellites on their own.
- The ASLV- Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle project, in the early 1980s, was the next step of evolution in launch vehicle technology.
(2) PSLV
- In mid 80s came the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) project. PSLV was successfully launched in 1994.
- The vehicle has proven to be a workhorse of ISRO, logging over 50 successful missions, launching national as well as foreign satellites.
- On 15 February 2017, PSLV created a world record by successfully placing 104 satellites.
- The nation embarked upon a highly challenging quest to master the complex cryogenic technology.
(3) GSLV
- The commissioning of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) in the 1990s was a step in this direction. The launch vehicle was designed with three stages.
- With the injection of Chandrayaan-2 into Earth Parking Orbit in July 2019, GSLV Mk III successfully entered into its operational phase.
(4) SSLV
- The Small Satellites Launching Vehicles (SSLVs) used for commercial launching of small satellites is under incubation.
[C] Remote Sensing Satellites
- INSAT-1B, India’s first multipurpose operational satellite was launched in 1983. It brought major revolution in
- India’s telecommunications, television broadcasting, and weather-forecasting domains.
- In 1988, IRS-1A, the first operational satellite built in India, started imaging the earth. During the 1990s, ISRO began building INSAT-2 series of multipurpose satellites indigenously.
- Today, India has a fleet of advanced remote sensing satellites.
- High Throughput Satellites (HTS) such as GSAT- 11, GSAT-29, and GSAT-19 are supporting the Digital India campaign by boosting the broadband connectivity in rural India.
Major accomplishments
(1) Chandrayaan
- The space science missions of India– Chandrayaan-1, Mars Orbiter Mission, AstroSat, and Chandrayaan-2– have caught the attention of the world.
- With Chandrayaan-1, India became the fourth country to send a probe to the lunar surface after the United States, the Soviet Union, and Japan.
- It conclusively discovered water molecules on the lunar surface, it was widely hailed as a path-breaking discovery.
(2) Mission Mangal (Mars Orbiter Mission)
- Launched by PSLV in November 2013, the Mars Orbiter Spacecraft encountered Mars in September 2014.
- With this, ISRO has become the fourth space agency to successfully send a spacecraft to Mars orbit.
(3) Others
- AstroSat: It recently made a major breakthrough by discovering one of the earliest galaxies in extreme- Ultraviolet light.
- NAVIC: ISRO has also successfully established and operationalized Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) which provides highly accurate Position, Navigation, and Time information to users.
- GAGAN: Further, through GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN), ISRO is providing Satellite-based Navigation services for better Air Traffic Management over Indian Airspace.
Future Projects
- Gaganyaan Programme: It was approved by the Government of India in 2018. It has the stated objective of demonstrating human space flight capability to Low- Earth Orbit (LEO) for a defined duration and safe recovery after the mission.
- Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC): This was constituted in ISRO for implementing the vision on the human space flight programme.
Major breakthroughs: Commercialization of Space Activities
- Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe): The creation of the IN-SPACE to promote, handhold, and authorise Non-Government Private Entities (NGPEs) to undertake space activities shall unleash the next wave of advancements in the sector.
- New Space India Limited (NSIL): Empowering the PSU NSIL to own the operational launch vehicles and space assets of ISRO, opens up a new chapter in the management of space activities in the country.
- ANTRIX: ISRO also has a business branch called Antrix, which markets ISRO’s space products and technologies to a global audience.
Various challenges
- Security concerns from private activities: Government worries over knowledge sharing, launch methods, and satellite capabilities have led to a reluctance to allow private actors in the market due to the security concerns.
- Long gestation period: Many approval processes take a long time to complete. Approvals take around a year and a half. This comes at a time when the next three to four years are critical for the sector’s growth.
- State control: The ISRO is directly controlled by the Department of Space (DOS), which is under the Prime Minister’s Office.
- Licensing issues: Another regulatory worry is the licensing structure for satellite earth station gateways, which needs to be transformed to make it easier for any satellite operator to set one up.
- Limited indigenization: Another challenge is promoting indigenous innovation. In the new global climate, the challenge for the country is to continue to benefit from this innovation.
Way forward
- Creating a policy and regulatory framework that is predictable for both ISRO and private firms.
- Future planetary exploration and space travel should include the private sector.
- Allowing commercial enterprises to rent ISRO testing facilities for the purpose of testing their products and equipment.
- Improved regulatory clarity would result in fewer hurdles to entry for private companies and better synergy between ISRO and private partners.
- Private companies are given incentives to develop satellites or test rockets, lowering costs and increasing incentives for enterprises to build operational spacecraft.
- ISRO would assist the private sector in attracting both domestic and foreign direct investment by offering access to its satellite technology, facilities, and orbital slots (FDI).
Conclusion
- There is a need to liberalise the space sector and allow more private players to use ISRO facilities for developing, launching, and deploying a variety of applications.
- The government should take appropriate measures to enable the private sector to ensure that India remains at the forefront of the global space industry.
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