I was very fortunate to have been associated with our Space program right from the beginning of our efforts of tracking low orbit satellites in 1960-1961 at the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, and launch of the first sounding rocket from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) near Thiruvananthapuram in 1963. When I look back on our efforts carried out over the last six decades, I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to participate and contribute in those efforts.
Students, teachers, general public at any age are fascinated by ‘Space’. The mystery of the unknown, the remoteness, the adventure, the danger — all attract them. Reaching out to other planets and other worlds were the subjects earlier for science fiction. It is no longer so. Living in space, working in space, bringing samples of material from the Moon or an Asteroid, travelling in space as a tourist, moving about on the surface of the Moon and Mars have become a reality now. Today, university students not only can dream about making their own small satellites and get them launched using our launch vehicles, but they also can realise those dreams. We have certainly come a long way.
Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India’s space programme, had said on February 2, 1968, at the time of the dedication of TERLS to the United Nations: “There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in exploration of the moon or planets or manned spaceflight. But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the applications of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society, which we find in our country.” These words and thoughts had defined the goals for India’s space programme.
Our space program is driven by space applications. Dr Sarabhai was convinced that no nation could afford to neglect scientific research while concentrating on economic, social and technological development. While the rocket launching station was getting established at Thumba in 1963, simultaneously ionospheric research facilities were also established there. It was very clear that while rocket observations could give specific information, continuous ground-based observations were very much necessary. The work that was started then has resulted in a very good Space Physics Laboratory as part of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.
Our space programme was conceived by Dr Sarabhai for utilising space applications for the betterment of the life of common people. We have certainly realised his goals for launching our own scientific, remote sensing or communication satellites using our own launch vehicles. Today, we have gone beyond what were set out as our goals by him. We have orbited our satellites around the Moon and Mars, and we have launched 210 satellites for other nations.
We had understood that the essence of the national scientific policy was — ‘Applications of science and technology for the betterment of daily life in a self-reliant manner’ and — this is clearly realised by ISRO in terms of providing Operational Space Services using the technology and systems developed and realised in a self-reliant manner. ‘Make in India’ was not just a slogan for us, it was the way of life. One of the most important achievements of the Indian Space Research Organisation has been its indigenously sustained effort over the last six decades. The work of ISRO is not only carried in its centres but also in institutions of higher learning and thousand odd industries.
Today, we have many operational space services. Some of these are:
· Wideband telecommunications
· Mobile communications
· Telemedicine
· Television networking and direct to home broadcasting
· Radio networking
· Navigation and position determination
· Meteorological earth observations
· Meteorological Data Collection from Automatic Weather Stations
· Disaster Warning System
· Remote sensing of earth resources
· Earth imaging using visible spectrum for surveillance
· Microwave radar imaging
· Satellite Aided Search and Rescue
The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic last year has resulted in a sea change in our educational system. We have been able to respond and rise to the occasion by using our communication systems. The delivery the of online educational content, the conduct of examinations and the administration of educational facilities have been possible as we have a very robust communication system. The changes introduced will need to be continued for quite some time.
In order to continue to provide these operational space services, we need secure unrestricted access to space. This is needed to be able to launch our own satellites when we need to do so. When needed, we can get our national civilian communication satellites launched using launch services provided by other countries but it is clear that we cannot get our advanced remote sensing satellites launched in the same way. This was realised very early and accordingly the development of the technology required was undertaken in ISRO.
Development of Indigenous Launch Vehicles
The most important technologies necessary for the realisation of the solid and liquid propellants have been developed indigenously. The first rocket launch from TERLS — NASA rocket Nike Apache — took place on November 21, 1963. The development of our own sounding rockets was started in 1966. The studies for defining our own satellite launch vehicles were started in 1968. The development of the control and guidance systems for the launch vehicles was undertaken simultaneously. This resulted in the development of the Satellite Launch Vehicle SLV 3 under the leadership of A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. This was a small vehicle but it was the most important first step. While the work was going on, Dr Sarabhai had defined the goal of realising a launch vehicle for launching operational communication satellites. SLV 3 was followed by the Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV). The first two flights of ASLV were failures but the third and the fourth were successful.
It was clear that we would need a vehicle to launch a small communication satellite in geosynchronous transfer orbit and also be capable of launching a remote sensing satellite in sun synchronous orbit. This was realised by the design of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The PSLV has been the most successful launch vehicle developed by ISRO. The first development flight of the PSLV was a failure in 1993 but after having understood the causes of the failure, the first successful flight took place in October 1994. So far, 53 launches of the PSLV have taken place with only two failures. The PSLV has been utilised for launching satellites in sun synchronous orbit, geosynchronous orbit, Lunar orbit and the Mars orbit. It was used for the launching of the meteorological satellite ‘Kalpana’ in geostationary orbit. During one of the notable launches, 104 small satellites were launched.
Even before the successful launch of the PSLV, the configuration definition of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) was taken up. Initially, it was planned to get the technology of cryogenic engines from the USSR. This did not happen due to the embargo on technology transfer. Thus, while we purchased certain cryogenic stages from the USSR, the required cryogenic technology was indigenously developed and the same is now being used in GSLV Mark II and GSLV Mark III vehicles. The GSLV Mark III is the largest launch vehicle developed by ISRO so far. The GSLV Mark III vehicle is now slated to be the vehicle for launching of the ‘Gaganyaan’ carrying three Indian astronauts. The PSLV was used for the successful Space Recovery Experiment. ISRO has already carried out the technology demonstration for reusable launch vehicle RLV TD and experimental flight of the scramjet airbreathing vehicle has taken place. ISRO has now established a dedicated Human Space Flight Centre after the Gaganyaan program was approved by the Government.
In the realisation of the launch vehicles, a large number of industries are involved. Now efforts are underway to see if the entire launch vehicle can be delivered by the industry with ISRO taking the responsibility of quality assurance and launch operations. If this materialises, ISRO can concentrate on the development of newer technologies. We certainly need more efforts in the development of launch vehicles using semi cryogenic fluids — kerosene as the fuel and liquid oxygen as the oxidizer. This combination could result in much lesser cost as well as reduced atmospheric pollution levels.
Building Our Own Satellites
Dr Sarabhai was convinced that we could use a Television Broadcasting satellite to deliver educational and instructional programmes. Studies were undertaken to define the overall system. It was planned that as a first step we will be using the NASA Applications Technology Satellite F and later this was to be followed by our own operational system. After his untimely death in 1971, the ISRO was led very handsomely by Prof Satish Dhawan. The Satellite Instructional Television Experiment — SITE — was successfully conducted in 1975-1976.
The INSAT system was conceived with the utilisation of the operational multipurpose geostationary satellites. For INSAT 1, the first series of the multipurpose satellites, ISRO had defined the basic specifications and the satellites were built by Ford Aerospace Communication Corporation of USA. While it was recognised that we will have to get our first series of operational communication satellites from foreign sources, our efforts to develop and fabricate our own satellites indigenously were undertaken parallelly.
The initial development of satellites was started in ISRO to provide the Rohini Technical Payload for the SLV 3 launch vehicle and to realise the first scientific satellite, Aryabhata, in 1975. This was very quickly followed by the Bhaskara satellite, Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment (APPLE), Indian Remote Sensing Satellites, and Indian National Satellite INSAT II series. ISRO has developed the complete capability of building satellites of any kind needed. These include the CARTOSAT, Hyper Spectral imaging satellite and Radar Imaging satellites. A large number of countries routinely use data of the earth imaging capabilities of our satellites.
The Meteorological Earth images taken by our satellites are being used extensively since 1983, for example, in the prediction of monsoon and detection of cyclones. The latest GIASAT, expected to be launched in April 2021, will enhance our capability further. When it was realised that we could not depend on the assured availability of the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system, we went ahead with our own Indian Region Navigation Satellite System, the IRNSS or NAVIC. In addition to the provision of the navigation data, our system also provides data for our fishermen. Successful integration of the NAVIC chips in addition to the GPS in GSM or CDMA mobile communication handsets will result in further extensive utilisation of the system.
The development, fabrication and launch of very complex missions such as the Chandrayaan, Mangalyaan and Astrosat have indicated our resolve to remain on the forefront of the technology. The successful completion of the Chandrayaan III and Aditya missions will add to ISRO’s prestige.
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, which completely revolutionised the space astronomy, has now stopped functioning. The launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is delayed. Today, the Astrosat developed by ISRO, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics is providing the necessary data.
Space and National Security
ISRO has contributed extensively in providing necessary tools and information for national security. Its space communication systems and earth observation systems are extensively used by our security and defence agencies. ISRO has developed and delivered specific satellites for our defence needs of communications and earth observations in any weather conditions. Our communications in the remote border areas as well as island areas are extensively dependent on the use of our satellites.
Space Technology and Education
Dr Sarabhai had recognised very early that ISRO can play a very important role in the development of human resources and hence when the Experimental Satellite Communication Earth Station (ESCES) was established in Ahmedabad, the responsibility of organising and running training courses for space communications was undertaken there. The Indian Institute of Remote Sensing provides necessary training and education to a large number of Indians. The Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific, which is affiliated to the UN, organises and runs training programs in the disciplines of Space Communications, Space Meteorology, Space Navigation, Remote Sensing and Space Science.
Right from the beginning, ISRO has worked towards capacity development of the users of the data and information generated by our satellites. ISRO has established many Regional Remote Sensing Service Centres and helped in establishing Remote Sensing Application Centres in most of the states.
ISRO has maintained excellent linkages with academic institutions. Many professors from IITs, IISC, IISERs and Universities have regularly participated and contributed in technical reviews of our satellites and launch vehicles. In many of IITs, cells devoted to work in the areas of Space Science and Technology have been established by ISRO.
ISRO has a very good structured programme RESPOND for Sponsored Research to be carried out in colleges and universities. In order to get the necessary trained human resource, ISRO has established the Indian Institute of Space Technology, which is at par with the IITs.
The Way Ahead
The first human being in the Earth’s orbit was Yuri Gagarin. Since then, a large number of persons have gone to space and come back. Rakesh Sharma went aboard Soyuz in 1984. Now we are planning the use of a three-person capsule aboard the GSLV Mark III vehicle. This is one of ISRO’s most ambitious programmes. Just the spinoffs of the technology developed will be extremely valuable for the food processing industry and for the medical profession.
Commercial utilisation of space technology is a vast business. ISRO has an active Technology Transfer and Technology Utilisation programme. ISRO/ Department of Space had established the Antrim Corporation in 1992 and now the New Space India Limited has been established. These entities are given the responsibility to market ISRO services worldwide. The data from ISRO remote sensing satellites has great demand worldwide. And the high reliability of the PSLV launch vehicle has resulted in the demand for launch services from India.
The communication technology is continuously changing. While the optical fibre communications systems as well as the wireless systems are extensively growing, the need for space communications for broadcasting will remain for a very long time. Similarly, the need for space communications for the Maritime Mobile, Aero Mobile communications and earth observations will also exist.
Space tourism and mining for materials in space will become very important in future. These activities will require special attention in terms of Space Law, International Treaties, Space Insurance and National Security. We are going to require human resource working in every discipline to contribute to our future development. It is not necessary to be a scientist/ technologist for contributing to the national space effort. The opportunities are available for any person who has a passion for Space.
*The writer is former Director, Space Applications Centre, ISRO, and Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, ISRO
