India has come a long way towards achieving self-sufficiency in space systems. India has designed and developed communication satellites and launch vehicles.
INSAT (Indian National Satellite) is the largest communication satellite system in the whole of the Asia Pacific region. Among the various services it provides are television, telecommunication and meteorology services. Satellite television now covers the entire Indian sub-continent. Another important application is education, both formal and non-formal. The meteorological data provided by INSAT is used for weather forecasting, and also serves as a cyclone warning system in coastal areas.
Remote sensing satellites are being used in the fields of agriculture and forestry, and for mapping ground water availability. Data from remote sensing satellites are being used to monitor changes in land use and vegetation density.
Initially, with the purpose of achieving self sufficiency in launching its own satellites, India developed launch vehicles that will put these satellites into geosynchronous orbit. But India has put is expertise to good effect by launching satellites belonging to other nations as well. Now, India is using these same launch systems to send the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft on its first mission to the Moon. The primary objective of the Moon mission is to map the surface of he moon from a height of one hundred kilometers.
India’s future plans include the development of a re-usable launch vehicle to reduce the cost of spaceflight.
An important feature of India’s space program is that academic institutions (carrying out Research and Development activities) and Industry (fabrication and manufacture of various systems and sub-systems) have been associated with it since the very beginning. Interestingly, many of the advanced technologies developed by the Indian space program have been transferred to industry for commercial applications.
Through its space program, India has shown its capability to innovate, and also to develop and use advanced technology. While the primary objective of the space program remains strategic and geo-political in nature, that does not preclude reaping rich commercial benefits as well.
G. Madhavan Nair, the author, is chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).