Since the first-half of the twentieth century, humanity has taken a keen interest in extra-terrestrial matters. These interests were later operationalized in the latter half of the same century. The space missions bore some applications to human life including weather forecasting, security applications; which include surveillance and missile detection- as well as navigation among other uses. Several nations around the globe have been implementing their space programs; a fact that culminated in the space race. For instance, Russia sent the first man (Yuri Gagarin) to space using Sputnik I and would also later see the US send astronauts (among them Neil Armstrong) to the moon through the Apollo Mission (Crompton, 2007) and (Watkins, 2007). Today, many other nations are actively engaged in space programs with different motivations. For this research paper, focuses on the Asian nation and subcontinent of India.
India’s Space Program
This space program was founded in 1969 by the government of India basing on the need to participate in the then prevailing space race that had taken root in the last half of the twentieth century. The space program in India is managed by the federal government and is owned entirely by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Lele (2013) indicates. Its headquartered are located in the city of Bangalore in the state of Karnataka. However, ISRO is managed by the office of the Prime Minister of India through the Department of Space (ISRO, 2018). At present, the operations of the ISRO are considered among the most successful space programs in the world. It boasts of the launch of more than eighty missions (spacecraft) since 1975 when the first satellite, Aryabhata was launched with the help of the Soviet Union on the 19 th of April. Presently, as Sheehan (2010) notes, the nation operates a series of communication, navigational and earth observation satellites including the INSAT, GSAT, and IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System). The country, as ISRO (2018) observes, also maintains the TES and Cartostat satellites which have both civilian and military operations.
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According to Sadeh, (2013), the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is guided by the vision of "Harnessing space technology in the development of the nation and pursuing space science and planetary exploration,". These space programs are intended first and foremost for the development of the nation while planetary exploration is secondary. In both regards, ISRO has in the last decade undertaken several missions including the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) in November of 2013, as Bagla (2016) notes, as well as the record-breaking launch of 20 satellites in a single mission (payload) in June 2016, and further the launch of a world record setting 104 satellites using the PSLV-C37 rocket, Ellen (2017) writes. In the last year, ISRO presided over the launch, into space, of the GSAT-19 satellite, used for communications applications. The organization, ISRO (2018) further points out, also oversaw the launch of the most massive rocket into space, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mk III).
Aerospace Technology, (2015) specifically recognizes the space program carried out by the Asian nation as excellent due to the impressive accomplishments that ISRO has been able to make on a very limited budget. Pointing to the November 2013 Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) which only consumed about 10% of what the United States’ National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) had used to accomplish the same feat. The successes of the ISRO managed space program can also be seen in the successful tests carried out on the scale space shuttle developed by the program Rajagopalan (2017). Considering its economic might, as measured by its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) the accomplishments of the Asian nation, therefore, become impressive, beating the space programs of many other nations that have higher GDPs and have invested much more into their space programs such as France and even Germany.
Future Directions for Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)
Considering the stellar performance of its missions and programs to date, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and about its vision of harnessing space technology in the development of the nation, should continue to carry out missions intended to explore the possibilities of applying space science for national development. In this regard, the nation of India should consider designing its future programs and undertakings with the mission of improving the security of the region. This would be accomplished through the design of space programs for military applications (such as missile detection, reconnaissance, and surveillance) considering the volatile security situation in the region; along the common border with Pakistan, in neighboring Afghanistan and the Middle East region in general (Rajagopalan, 2017). Further, the nation should also, in planning future undertakings, consider the application of its missions for purposes of enhancing communication. To such end, as Bhaskaranarayana, Bhatia, Bandyopadhyay & Jain (2007) allege, the space programs that the nation carries should have applications in the betterment of communication technologies that aims at making systems more reliable, efficient and available. India’s space program under ISRO should also be geared towards the use in meteorological ends including weather forecasting (as relates to flood, monsoon, hurricanes and other adverse weather condition warnings) to help in disaster preparation and relief efforts. As such, it will be better positioned in helping its vast agricultural population.
Going forward, even though India has proven that is solely capable of designing its space programs and executing its space missions, at a fraction of the budget that other nations spend, it would be important for the subcontinent to seek collaborations with other space powers including China, the US, the Russian Federation and Japan. Such collaborations, as Salas, Tannenbaum, Kozlowski, Miller, Mathieu& Vessey (2015) note would be helpful in the streamlining of space program goals which mainly include security and military ends, meteorological undertakings, improvement of communication technology and advancement of humanity’s knowledge of space science. All these ends concern each nation on earth, though some (like military and defense applications) only to a varied extent, while others (like weather forecasting and the improvement of communication technology) to the same extent. Essentially, therefore, India as a regional power in Asia, should, through its ISRO managed space program reach out to, and accept invitations to collaborate from, other governments of nations involved in the advancement of space programs and missions. Drawing from the viewpoint of Salas, Tannenbaum, Kozlowski, Miller, Mathieu& Vessey (2015), this would help share technologies available therein, harmonize objectives and reduce competition on areas of common interest while improving international relations in the process.
Additionally, the nation of India should also consider the collaboration with commercial entities such as Google Inc. in its space program. This collaboration would benefit both the country and the cooperation in the short and long run regarding mobilization of resources both financial and technical skills. Previously, as Bagla (2016) already indicated, ISRO has launched satellites for Google during its space undertakings. Further collaborations to such ends would be beneficial to the government of India. It helps provide the fund needed to finance the space programs while advancing the ends of the commercial entity in question, provided that such ends are in tune with the vision of ISRO and are not detrimental to the peace, security, economy, and advancement of the nation.
Conclusion
Already a space powerhouse in its own right, India, through the government-owned Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), has successfully launched several space missions, each with different intentions and has been able to develop one of the world’s most enviable space programs. All these successes have been attained, at a fraction of the cost that many other nations have incurred in the development of their missions. Going forward, however, the nation may need to improve its international relations through beneficial collaborations with other space powerhouses such as the US, China, the Russian Federation and Japan, to share technology, resources, and findings in the betterment of their respective space programs. Collaboration opens up avenues of utilizing already existing facts of previous missions saving cost while enhancing efficiency. Additionally, its development needs to focus more on benefiting the Indian citizens in terms of enhancing communication, security and weather forecasting. Goals oriented at directly benefiting at the normal citizen will not only give the country pride but also attribute to its success trough public good-will. All this factors are attainable gauging from the countries current space program performance.
References
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