Another tale of sweet victory from Indian Space Research Organization

ISRO has created history by successfully launching its 100th rocket from Sriharikota. The GSLV rocket launched the NVS-02 satellite, part of the Indian navigation system NavIC project. The GSLV-F15 took off after completing a 27-hour countdown that began early Tuesday morning. This was the first mission after ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan took charge. The successes achieved by ISRO one after the other, bringing India among the superpowers in the field of science, are a source of pride for every Indian. The recent docking of a pair of satellites in space proved that we can succeed in any complex technology. By making this huge mission a reality at a cost of Rs 370 crore, which is lower than that of other big countries, we have also achieved the distinction of being the fourth country after Russia, the US and China to have space docking technology. This technology will help achieve the goal of having our own space station. Along with this, many proud achievements, including the first time a seed was germinated in space, were acquired.

When the 100th rocket was successfully launched, the older generation of Thiruvananthapuram would have recalled a picture. It was a picture of a rocket part being tied to a bicycle and rolled to Thumba for launch. Among those who walked with the bicycle was Dr. Abdul Kalam, who was then the head of engineering and later became the President of India. The rocket launch took place on November 21, 1963, under the leadership of the revolutionary scientist Vikram Sarabhai, who taught India to dream of space. The rocket parts imported from the United States were assembled in India and launched that day.

Those were the days when India was just starting its venture into space. From there, India has now reached a level where it can achieve unimaginable achievements. ISRO and VSSC have all achieved success by learning from failures. The first SLV mission, launched from Sriharikota on August 10, 1979 with a satellite called Rohini, was a failure. The second launch in July 1980 successfully put the Rohini satellite into orbit. Now, India uses large rockets like PSLV and GSLV and even larger LVM rockets for satellite launches.

A new chapter in space history was written the moment Vikram Lander made a soft landing on the Moon without any mistakes. India was also the first country to land a lander on the South Pole of the Moon. It is particularly memorable that the launch of Chandrayaan-3 was led by the then ISRO Chairman, Somanath, a Malayali. The country should thank the scientists and technical experts who are working day and night behind this and the political leadership that supports it for continuously giving the country sweet victories. It is hoped that India will soon achieve its dream of sending humans into space on its own.