Opinion Express View on Gaganyaan: Sky’s not the limit

Preparing to join their names in history books with Rakesh Sharma, the air force captain who became the first Indian in space in 1984, are Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla — the astronaut-designates for India’s first human space flight mission, Gaganyaan. Having trained in anonymity for the last four years, they received their “astronaut wings” on February 27 at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thumba, Kerala, from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who described them as “the four forces” representing the dreams of 1.4 billion Indians. What may have seemed like a dream almost too big, has acquired a human dimension.

Announced in 2018, Gaganyaan is one of India’s most ambitious space programmes. The task of sending humans into the vast unknown and bringing them back safely is more expensive and challenging than the Mars and Moon missions. A successful execution would put India in the company of the US, Russia and China. As stated on the ISRO website, the short-term goal is to demonstrate human spaceflight to Low Earth Orbit, while the long-term goal is to lay the foundation for a “sustained Indian human space exploration programme”. Success in its ultimate objective — proving that India is capable of indigenously developing this complex technology — would be a huge boost for ISRO.

Advertisement

The excitement around Gaganyaan is not only a sign of how much ISRO’s public profile has grown over the last few years, but also the increasing reach and scale of its ambitions. The success of recent missions like Mangalyaan and Chandrayaan, while exhilarating in themselves, can become the start of something larger. The demonstrations of technological capabilities must be built on, if India wishes to eventually operate in the same league as the US or China. This can only happen if these successes help move towards an ecosystem that is able to compete with the most advanced. Opening up of the sector to private parties and allowing 100 per cent foreign direct investment are steps in the right direction. Indeed, a similar ambitious thrust is needed across sectors of scientific research. On several indicators, such as the share of GDP spent on research and development, nurturing universities to be centres for R&D and number of patents filed, India lags woefully. If putting Indians in space using made-in-India technology will be a dream come true, making Indian science and technology competitive at the highest level will mean the realisation of many more.