Investigation at ISRO

ISRO is one of the most prestigious institutions in India. The accolades that the Indian Space Research Organisation has achieved on its own are invaluable. With limited facilities and funds, this organisation has achieved almost the same achievements as other developed countries. A cartoon published in the New York Times after India's successful launch of Mangalyaan to Mars had created a huge controversy. The newspaper later regretted publishing the cartoon mocking India as if cattle class members were also members of the "Elite Space Club". This cartoon should also be seen as an expression of the fact that even developed countries cannot accept the fact that India became the first country to successfully launch a satellite to Mars on its first attempt.

The prejudice that Indians should always take care of cattle and live in poverty is what prompted the newspaper to publish such a cartoon. However, such ridicule has not hindered ISRO's forward journey, and it is moving forward with new missions. There is no country that has never failed in space missions. India has also had failures. However, no one has ever raised the suspicion of sabotage. However, it was only after the recent two consecutive failures of the PSLV launch that suspicions of sabotage were raised from some quarters.

Although ISRO, top leaders in the space sector, Union ministers and others denied all this, some subsequent actions and incidents have strengthened the suspicion. The most important of these was the visit of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval to Kerala. He stayed at the ISRO guest house and returned after holding several meetings with space scientists. There were reports, without official confirmation, that Doval had submitted an investigation report to Prime Minister Modi. This has been followed by a move that convinces us that all suspicions are true. The news that a committee has been formed on the instructions of the Prime Minister to investigate the failure of ISRO's first launch mission of the year, PSLV-62, has now come out. The committee will be headed by former Central Science Advisor K Vijayaraghavan, while former ISRO Chairman S Somnath has been appointed as the vice-chairman.

Earlier, a committee headed by former chairman K Sivan had investigated. Historically, ISRO has relied on internal investigations to investigate mission failures. This is the first time that a committee has been formed under the leadership of an outsider to investigate. There are indications that the first meeting of the committee has already taken place. Sabotage can occur from within or from outside. Without a detailed investigation, no one can conclude that there was no interference from enemy countries. Since these are matters related to national security, it is not possible to disclose the findings of the investigation committee. The visit of the National Security Advisor strengthens the suspicion that something untoward has happened. It is expected that the new committee's investigation will assess all the subtle aspects of the mission failure and take corrective measures accordingly.