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ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

Free ISRO from bureaucratic control. The public-private space model needs it

It is sad and frustrating to see the massive talent exodus from ISRO. The reasons for this are not far to seek: lack of vision, bureaucratic rigidity and organisational inertia.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi said earlier this month, the successful orbital launch of Vikram-1, India’s first privately developed launch vehicle, is “a historic new frontier for India’s space journey”.

This milestone signals a new chapter in India’s space programme, based on the foundation laid by ISRO but with fewer bureaucratic constraints and more room for private enterprise.

Before looking at how India can build on this momentum, it is worth revisiting the country’s space journey over the past several decades.

Also Read: Why foreign universities alone won’t fix India’s higher education crisis

ISRO’s pioneering groundwork

What began as the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), founded by Dr Vikram Sarabhai in 1962, evolved over time into the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 1969.

India’s first step into outer space was the launch of the Aryabhata satellite in 1975. Three decades later, Chandrayaan-1 added value to lunar exploration by discovering water molecules on the Moon. In 2014, India became the first country to reach Mars on its maiden attempt with the Mars Orbiter Mission, Mangalyaan. ISRO further solidified its scientific prowess with Chandrayaan-3, Aditya-L1 and the SPADEX space docking experiment.

Behind many of these recent successes was ISRO’s long effort to develop its own launch capabilities.

ISRO began developing the solid-fuelled Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3) in 1973 under its then project director, and later President of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. In 1980, it launched the 40 kg remote sensing satellite Rohini, making India the seventh country to........

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