Our first moon mission, Chandrayaan-I, is in its final stages. As the nation awaits the countdown to liftoff, TOI turns a rover to take a closer look at the various
When India’s space programme took off about 40 years ago, Vikram Sarabhai, the man behind the mission, declared it should focus only on social issues. “We do not have the fantasy of competing with economically advanced nations in exploring the moon, the planets or manned space flights,’’ he said.
Space scientists, too, nodded in approval and over the years, the space programme followed the trajectory chalked out by the renowned physicist. India developed four types of rockets—the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV), the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV), the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the Geo Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). The SLV and the ASLV launched experimental satellites, and Isro’s main workhorse, the PSLV, and the GSLV carried satellites with day-to-day applications. For instance, the PSLV launched remote sensing satellites that helped in urban development, coastal studies and crop assessment. The GSLV has ferried Insat (Indian National Satellite System) satellites for enhanced broadcasting, search and rescue operations, education and telemedicine.
At present, India has a towering presence in space with a constellation of 11 communication and eight operational remote-sensing satellites, whose performance earned the country global acclaim. But the scientists were itching to reach higher orbits. So they got into a huddle to discuss the risks of deviating from Sarabhai’s vision without losing focus of the
service-to-society objective. Leading from the front was Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, the former Isro chairman.
“We brainstormed and came to a conclusion that as most space-faring nations were focusing on space science, we, too, should do the same, particularly as we had the capability,’’ Kasturirangan told TOI.
The next big question was how. “We hit upon an idea—why not an unmanned flight to the moon? We thought about it and agreed. It was neither for the sake of competition or politics, as it was in the US, but purely for scientific reasons,’’ he said.
The experts wanted to feel the public pulse and a programme organized in Delhi on May 11, 1999, to mark the first anniversary of the Pokhran tests proved to be the perfect platform. At this forum, where he was the chief speaker, Kasturirangan spoke at length about the achievements of India’s space programme before dropping the bombshell: India was exploring the possibility of launching a rocket to the moon. The audience broke into a huge applause.
Kasturirangan consulted various scientific bodies—the Indian Academy of Sciences and the Astronautical Society of India—which gave the goahead. The move was endorsed by the Parliamentary standing committee of science and technology and the specially-constituted Lunar Task Force.
Finally, during his I-Day address in 2003, former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced from Red Fort India’s plan to go to the moon and named the mission ‘Chandrayaan’, meaning mooncraft in Sanskrit
When India’s space programme took off about 40 years ago, Vikram Sarabhai, the man behind the mission, declared it should focus only on social issues. “We do not have the fantasy of competing with economically advanced nations in exploring the moon, the planets or manned space flights,’’ he said.
Space scientists, too, nodded in approval and over the years, the space programme followed the trajectory chalked out by the renowned physicist. India developed four types of rockets—the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV), the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV), the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the Geo Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). The SLV and the ASLV launched experimental satellites, and Isro’s main workhorse, the PSLV, and the GSLV carried satellites with day-to-day applications. For instance, the PSLV launched remote sensing satellites that helped in urban development, coastal studies and crop assessment. The GSLV has ferried Insat (Indian National Satellite System) satellites for enhanced broadcasting, search and rescue operations, education and telemedicine.
At present, India has a towering presence in space with a constellation of 11 communication and eight operational remote-sensing satellites, whose performance earned the country global acclaim. But the scientists were itching to reach higher orbits. So they got into a huddle to discuss the risks of deviating from Sarabhai’s vision without losing focus of the
service-to-society objective. Leading from the front was Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, the former Isro chairman.
“We brainstormed and came to a conclusion that as most space-faring nations were focusing on space science, we, too, should do the same, particularly as we had the capability,’’ Kasturirangan told TOI.
The next big question was how. “We hit upon an idea—why not an unmanned flight to the moon? We thought about it and agreed. It was neither for the sake of competition or politics, as it was in the US, but purely for scientific reasons,’’ he said.
The experts wanted to feel the public pulse and a programme organized in Delhi on May 11, 1999, to mark the first anniversary of the Pokhran tests proved to be the perfect platform. At this forum, where he was the chief speaker, Kasturirangan spoke at length about the achievements of India’s space programme before dropping the bombshell: India was exploring the possibility of launching a rocket to the moon. The audience broke into a huge applause.
Kasturirangan consulted various scientific bodies—the Indian Academy of Sciences and the Astronautical Society of India—which gave the goahead. The move was endorsed by the Parliamentary standing committee of science and technology and the specially-constituted Lunar Task Force.
Finally, during his I-Day address in 2003, former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced from Red Fort India’s plan to go to the moon and named the mission ‘Chandrayaan’, meaning mooncraft in Sanskrit
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