Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'India’s heaviest rocket launched' that was published in Newsband

India’s heaviest rocket launched

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has done the successful developmental flight of the country’s heaviest Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, the GSLV Mark-III. It can reach the geostationary orbit about 36,000 km from Earth. It almost doubles India’s current launch capacity.

It can now be said without hesitation that India belongs to the elite club of countries that have mastered cryogenic technology. The launch provides invaluable data on aerodynamic behaviour of the vehicle.

The Mark-III will be operational with the success of one more developmental flight, which is set to take place within a year. This will make India self-reliant in launching heavier satellites, bringing down costs substantially. It is likely that other countries will soon turn to ISRO for the launch of heavier satellites at a lower cost.

Compared with the two-member crew capacity of the GSLV, the Mk-III can carry three astronauts and have more space to carry out experiments.

Indian space science is scaling new heights and its recent achievement is commendable. The mission’s success will enable India to launch four-tonne satellites on its own rocket instead of paying huge amounts of money to foreign space agencies to execute the operation.

ISRO’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III rocket lifted off from the space launch centre in Sriharikota on June 5. The rocket, weighing 640 tonnes and standing 43.43 metres tall, blasted off from the second launch pad at India’s rocket port at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, around 105 km from Chennai. ISRO’s focus is to achieve 12 launches per year. The launch was the culmination of work done over decades. IRSO has given birth to a ‘Bahubali’ today describing the launch of the GSLV Mk III. They have made a Make in India launch vehicle. PM Modi said that the mission took India closer to the next generation launch vehicle and satellite capability.

The rocket’s main and bigger cryogenic engine has been developed by space scientists indigenously. It will help India get a greater share of the multi-billion dollar global space market and reduce dependency on international launching vehicles. The rocket will carry a 3,136-kg GSAT-19 communications satellite – the heaviest to be lifted by an Indian rocket till date – to an altitude of around 179km above the Earth after just over 16 minutes into the flight

India is one of the world leaders in rocket technology. This is because with years of dedicated research we've developed the ability to launch satellites with utmost reliability, and at the cheapest possible price. A successful launch of this rocket is yet another major step towards being self-reliant in the country’s space programme.

ISRO has asked the Centre for Rs. 12,500 crore for its mission to put humans in space.  It is true that there are so many pressing problems in rural areas and funds are required there too. But Space Science can help in many ways of Development. Apart from research ISRO is making money for the country so further technical advances will open more possibilities of country's development, revenue. Anyway other countries also getting benefited through ISRO by its success rate and low cost technology.

It is true that there is over spending on our space programme and neglecting of other issues like poverty, farmers water shortage etc. But we are generating/producing a new set of scientific populations. The next generation will take the country further in technology and other development. On top of that, we can make revenue by doing proxy launchers for others. We cannot shut/confine the brain of the current youth. We have the brain and we should make full use of it now.