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| Edited By: |Source: DNA |Updated: May 23, 2017, 11:06 AM IST
Oh! How the tables turn! Over two decades back, the then US President George Bush had imposed sanctions on Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), with an intent to prevent any exchange on technological know-how between India and Russia. Now, NASA is collaborating with ISRO to produce the most expensive earth imaging satellite. The satellite will be used to monitor ecological disruptions globally and will, hopefully, cement the bonds between the two countries. Rarely is an Indian public organisation hailed for developing cutting-edge technology and setting globally unrivalled precedents. ISRO, for years now, has been outmatching Elon Musk’s SpaceX and the French Arianespace.
Its success is evident from its cost-effective launches. Between FY13 and FY15, ISRO charged foreign entities an average of $3million for the launch of a satellite, vis-a-vis $60 million charged by SpaceX and $100 million charged by Arianespace. In February 2017, it became the first space agency in the world to launch 104 satellites from one rocket. The agency broke the record by a mile and a half, held by the Russian Space Agency, which had set off just 37 satellites from a single rocket.
ISRO has been making key contributions to Modi’s diplomatic heft as well. Earlier this month, the agency launched the GSAT-9 satellite, strengthening PM Narendra Modi’s credibility as he had in 2014 promised to deliver a satellite whose capabilities could be exploited by India as well as its neighbouring countries. Pakistan, predictably, walked out of the project, much to its loss.
