New Delhi, September 25 (IANS). Sometimes India had to collect equipment from different parts of the world for its rocket launches. Today, the same India is sending satellites of other countries into space on a commercial basis. ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan told these things about India's space journey in IIT Delhi.
He told that the cryogenic technology which was once refused to be shared, was developed by India on its own. Now the country's eyes are on manned mission to the moon, Indian space station and achieving new heights in space. Dr. V. Narayanan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Secretary of the Department of Space, gave detailed information about India's space journey and future plans at IIT Delhi. The topic of the lecture here was, 'India's Space Programme: Challenges and the way forward'. During this, he shared the story from India's initial challenges to the success of Chandrayaan-3, docking of satellites in space and preparations for human space flight.
Dr. Narayanan linked the beginning of India's space program to the year 1962 and said that at that time the country was struggling with basic challenges like food security and literacy. India's first rocket was launched from Thumba in November 1963. At that time, equipment collected from different parts of the world was used to prepare the rocket. After this, India continuously increased its capability in the field of space technology. Today, along with designing and launching satellites on its own, the country is also sending satellites of other countries into space commercially. This change reflects India's long journey towards technological self-reliance. The world did not give cryogenic technology to India, so India created it itself. The development of cryogenic propulsion technology has been an important milestone in India's space journey.
Dr. Narayanan told that in the early 1990s, some countries had refused to give this technology to India. After this India decided to convert this challenge into an opportunity. He said that when the world refused to give us this technology, we decided to develop it ourselves. Today I can tell you that we have developed three cryogenic propulsion systems completely on our own. He described the success of Chandrayaan-3 as a historic chapter in India's space programme. On 23 August 2023, India made a successful soft landing near the south polar region of the Moon. With this achievement, India became the fourth country to make a soft landing on the Moon and the first country to land near the southern polar region.
He further said, “23 August 2023 was a historic day for India. India became the fourth country after the first three countries to make a successful soft landing on the Moon and the first country to successfully land in the southern polar region of the Moon. The success of Chandrayaan-3 strongly placed India's space exploration capability before the world. Dr. Narayanan also mentioned India's recent space docking experiment. He said that India has become the fourth country in the world to successfully connect two spacecraft in space.
He also highlighted India's growing capability to place satellites in precise orbit. According to him, India has made remarkable achievements in many areas of space science and technology. These also include achievements like discovery of water molecules on the Moon and reaching the orbit of Mars in the first attempt. From Gaganyaan to the Indian Space Station, big plans for the next decade. Dr. Narayanan also laid out the outline of the upcoming plans for India's space programme.
He said that the country is now moving towards human space flight and long-term presence in space. India's human spaceflight program is currently working towards its first unmanned flight. The objective of this mission is to develop India's human spaceflight capability. The first module of the Indian Space Station has received project approval. It is planned to be launched by 2028. After this, the target is to add other modules of the station by the year 2035. On Chandrayaan-4, he said that the objective of this mission is to bring samples from the Moon to Earth. This will take India's lunar exploration program to a new phase.
Dr Narayanan also mentioned future plans including Chandrayaan-5 and the proposed mission to Venus. India has set a target of landing humans on the Moon by the year 2040. This goal is included in the ambitious plans of India's space program.
–IANS
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