Political Slugfest or Credit-game – Chandrayaan 3
Article by G.B. Reddy Sir
On anticipated lines, the outbreak of political slugfest or Credit-game in the visual media is real. The Congress Party leaders lay claims for credit to Nehru’s vision. And, the I.N.D.I.A partners like the TMC blame the BJP for squandering the financial resources for Modi’s image build-up. Also, the JDU spokesperson gives the credit to the scientists of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
The irrefutable fact is that Dr. Vikram Sarabhai was instrumental in the establishment of the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) in 1962. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai was the first ISRO Chairman in August 1969.
Fact 1 - Credit for the Space technology development rightly goes to Dr. Vikrm Sarabhai, who founded the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in 1947 by a modest beginning at his residence, the "RETREAT", with research on cosmic rays. He formally established the M.G. Science Institute, Ahmedabad, on 11 November 1947 with support from the Karmkshetra Educational Foundation and the Ahmedabad Education Society. K R Ramanathan was the first Director of the institute. The initial focus was research on cosmic rays and the properties of the upper atmosphere. Research areas were expanded to include theoretical physics and radio physics later with grants from the Atomic Energy Commission.
Fact 2 - Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS): established on 21 November 1963 located in Thumba, a small fishing village near Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala for launching sounding rockets. The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, (VSSC) is named in his memory.
Fact 3 - Credit must also go to local Bishop of Trivandrum, Rev. Peter Bernard Periera, along with Vincent Victor Dereere (a Belgian) and district collector Madhavan Nair, who were instrumental in acquiring a large parcel of land measuring 600 acres from coastal community and the former St Louis High School, which now houses a space museum, for the assembly of the first rocket. Periera had given away the prayer hall and bishop's room in the local church for the scientific pursuits of A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. H. G. S. Murthy was appointed as the first Director of Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station.
By 24 Nov, 2022, ISRO had launched the successful flight of 200th RH200 from the TERLS.
Fact 4 - On 15 August 1969, ISRO was established in Bengaluru to carry out further space research.
Fact 5 - Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR), is located in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh originally called Sriharikota Range (SHAR), became operational in 1971 when an RH-125 sounding rocket was launched. The first attempted launch of an orbital satellite, Rohini 1A aboard a SLV, took place on 10 August 1979, but due to a failure in thrust vectoring of the rocket's second stage, the satellite's orbit decayed on 19 August 1979.
Fact 6 - The SDSC-SHAR facility now consists of two launch pads, with the second built in 2005. The two launch pads will allow multiple launches in a single year, which was not possible earlier. The second launch pad was used for launches beginning in 2005 and is a universal launch pad, accommodating all of the launch vehicles used by ISRO.
SDSC-SHAR launches satellites using multistage rockets such as the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV).
First flight-test of 'Rohini-125', a small sounding rocket which took place on 9 October 1971 was the first rocket launch from SHAR. The first test launch of the complete SLV-3 rocket occurred in August 1979 but it was only partially successful following a malfunction in the second-stage guidance system. On 18 July 1980 the SLV-3 successfully launched
The SLV3 Launch Pad began operation in 1979 and was decommissioned in 1994. It was used by two launch vehicles of the ISRO: the SLV and the ASLV. The first launch from this pad occurred on 10 August 1979, and was that of the first experimental flight of SLV-3 carrying the Rohini Technology Payload satellite. The last flight was of ASLV on 4 May 1994 carrying SROSS-C2.
The first ASLV launch from SHAR took place in 1987 and resulted in a failure. Eventually, out the four ASLV launches from 1987 to 1994, only one was successful. Together with the northerly Balasore Rocket Launching Station, the facilities are operated under the ISRO Range Complex (IREX) headquartered at SHAR.
The PSLV launch complex was commissioned during 1990. The first launch of the PSLV took place on 20 September 1993.
The first launch of GSLV was successfully completed on 18 April 2001. GSLV, with its own cryogenic upper stage, has enabled the launch of communications satellites of the class up to 2 tonnes. The next variant of GSLV is GSLV Mk III with its own cryogenic high-thrust engine and stage capable of launching communications satellites of the 4-ton class.
India's lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1 launched from the centre on 22 October 2008. India's first Mars orbiter Mangalyaan was launched from the centre on 5 November 2013, which was successfully placed into Mars orbit on 24 September 2014.
On 25 November 2022, the first private launchpad and mission control center was established. There are over 140 start- ups with the creation of an ecosystem of industry by IN-SPACE.
In a series of posts on micro blogging site X after the success of Chandrayaan 3, the government showcased "India's stellar decade in space" as, it said, ISRO launched an impressive 389 out of 424 foreign satellites in nine years of the NDA government. "A testament to our prowess in space innovation!," it said, adding, "Before 2014, only 35 foreign satellites were launched".
Budget Allocation
India's space sector budget soared from Rs 5,615 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 12,543 crore in 10 years, a rise of 123%, it said. With increased satellite launches, ISRO’s launch rate also jumped from 1.2 yearly launch missions before 2014 to an impressive 5.7 satellites since 2014.
Budget allocations: 1973–74 Rs.19.092 crores (0.03% GDP); 1978–79 -Rs.51.451 crores (0.05% of GDP); 1980–81 Rs.82.108 crores (0.06% of GDP); 1983–84 Rs. 163.365 crores (0.07% of GDP); 1986–87 Rs. 309.990 crores (0.1% of GDP); 1989–90 Rs.398.559 crores (0.08% of GDP);1994–95 Rs.759.079 crores (0.07% of GDP); 2000-2001 Rs.1905.399 crores (0.09% of GDP); 2005-06 Rs.2667.604 crores (0.07% of GDP); 2011-12 Rs.3790.788 crores (0.04% of GDP); 2015–16 Rs.6920.005 crores (0.05% of GDP); and 2021–22 Rs.12473.84 crores (0.05% of GDP).
Surely the budget allocation to ISRO at 0.05 of GDP is quite meager – shoe string allocation.
The country earned over Rs 3,300 crore by launching 389 foreign satellites in the last nine years. India also made a world record of launching 104 satellites on board PSLV-C3 on February 15, 2017. Of the 104 satellites, 101 belonged to international customers.
Key Developments
Kulasekharapatnam Spaceport is an under-development spaceport in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu. After completion, it would serve as the second launch facility of ISRO. This spaceport will mainly be used by ISRO for launching small payloads.
ISRO plans to launch three major missions: the 400 kg (880 lb) Aditya-L1, a mission to study the Solar corona; next Mars mission, Mars Orbiter Mission 2 or Mangalyaan 2 with an orbiter, proposed for launch in 2024; and an orbiter mission to Venus called Venus Orbiter Mission, that could launch as early as 2023 to study the planet's atmosphere.
To sum up, the real credit should go to Dr. Vikram Sarabhai for his vision and laying the foundation for both the TERLS, ISRO, SDSC-SHAR and many other establishments. Also, to APJ Abdul Kalam and a number of distinguished Directors who headed various establishments under ISRO. That the ISRO has achieved the milestone of Chandrayaan 3 – landing at the South Pole of Moon - despite shoe-string budgetary allocations.
Instead of indulging in the politics of “Credit/Blame Games”, it is never too late for the political leadership to consider allocation of 1.0% of GDP so that the ISRO can provide critical breakthroughs in Space Technologies which have multi benefits.
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