DNA Edit: ISRO scores a ton

It was a red-letter day in the history of India’s space research programme as ISRO launched its 100th satellite Cartosat-2, a surveillance satellite.

On Friday, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle or PSLV-C40, launched successfully from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh altogether carried 31 satellites, some of which belonged to Canada, Finland, France, Korea, the UK and the US — which have used India’s space infrastructure and expertise to power their space dreams.

India has come a long way since the early 1960s when space research activities were initiated in the country at a time when applications using satellites were in experimental stages even in the US.

Indian space initiatives have focused primarily on three key areas: satellites for communication and remote sensing, the space transportation system and application programmes. A cornerstone in nation-building, ISRO is one of the few institutions that have consistently raised the bar in performance.

It may appear far-fetched, but ISRO’s space programmes are actually geared towards the betterment of ordinary citizens. The images sent by the Cartosat-2 satellite, the eye in the sky, will be useful for cartographic applications, coastal land use and regulation, road network monitoring, water distribution, and creation of land use maps.

It will even detect infiltrators into India’s remote but strategic regions from neighbouring countries. No wonder, Pakistan is unnerved by ISRO’s most recent success. A Kargil-like incursion now looks like a remote possibility.