China may be the most visible of the aspiring space powers (thanks to publicity about its moon aspirations), but it is by no means the only country on the Asian continent that is pursuing ongoing operations on the high frontier. Many people may be surprised to find out that India has a state-sponsored space program; in actuality, the Indian Space Research Organization, or ISRO, was established only a month after the Apollo 11 moon mission, and its predecessor, the Indian National Committee on Space Research (INCOSPAR) goes back even further. From the beginning, the program was seen as a means of motivating young minds to pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) careers as well as a way of improving the quality of life of their people through earth observation and faster, more reliable communication.
In contrast to the United States space program, India’s has been focused on launchers, satellites, and associated technologies. India inaugurated its communications satellite system, INSAT, in 1983 and its first remote sensing satellite followed five years later. They also have a solid track record of being able to launch satellites into polar orbit and have recently developed the ability to deploy them into geosynchronous orbit, as well, all launches being accomplished from their single launch complex, Satish Dhawan Space Center, located on an island in the Bay of Bengal.
Their efforts are not entirely routine and conventional, however - two projects have attracted attention recently, demonstrating a high degree of technical competence and capability. First of these is the successful test of a scale model scramjet engine with the eventual goal of constructing an airbreathing reusable launch vehicle capable of deploying satellites; far from a pie-in-the-sky endeavor, Israel Aerospace Industries has provided access to wind tunnel facilities in support of the project.
The second project of note is the Chandrayaan moon probe; according to the project website, it is equipped with sensors capable of detecting electromagnetic frequencies from IR to X-ray and will produce a 5-10m resolution map of the lunar surface, allowing detailed analysis of geological and mineralogical characteristics. Such information would be extremely useful in support of a long-term Moon mission, though India’s focus is on looking back into the Moon’s past to find out how it formed and the composition of objects that have impacted it. If you’d like to see a demonstration of its capabilities firsthand, imagery is available at the project website. Both of these projects are indicative of India’s determination to support and maintain their space program, enhance their technological capacity, and utilize space for the betterment of their nation
Image of Chandrayaan1 space probe courtesy of NASA