India Launches Oceansat-2

It has not even been a month after Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) declaring its moon mission Chandrayaan-1 as over, but coming out of that dejection, it has added one more achievement to its credit. With the help of its powerful rocket PSLV, it has successfully launched its satellite named Oceansat-2 in space, along with six more nano-satellites of Europe. This remote sensing satellite will take the place of Oceansat-1, which has been working in space for the past 10 years. This was the 15th successful flight by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in a row.

Special Features
By placing with characteristics precision a satellite in an orbit of 728-km at a height of 40 km, the ISRO has made the country proud. Last year, the ISRO had launched 10 satellites in space simultaneously. Launching of seven satellites through the PSLV has followed this. These feats speak volumes about the ISRO.

Oceansat-2 could be useful in understanding the mood of oceans and forecasting weather. One special feature of Oceansat-2 is said to be of great help to fishermen. With the help of equipment on board this satellite, it would be possible to identify areas with large concentration of fish. With that information, fishermen would find their work made easy. What could be better than science making our day-to-day work easy in this manner? Until now, we see that useful information received from satellites and other very sensitive equipment or sources is not reaching the lowest level of population in an effective manner.

Useful for Agriculture Farming
The country has satellites and supercomputers capable of making accurate weather forecast, but even today, small farmers and fishermen are dependent on their common sense to guess changes in weather. People may be receiving warning about some big storm or cyclone through TV or radio, but the day-to-day information useful to agriculture farming is not reaching them. If fishermen going into sea to catch fish in their small dinghies do not get vital information from Oceansat, what is the use of such huge expense? It is issues like these that have created the dichotomy like Bharat and India.

It is praiseworthy that the country reaches the moon with the help of science, or our medical tourism sector grows, but it should also have its role in improving the lot of farmers. There should also be arrangements that poor people do not suddenly get infected by diseases like Encephalitis, and start dying. The objective of science is to make the life of humans easy, and it is the poor and farmers who need it most. The real benefit of Chandrayaan and Oceansat will be seen only when several disparities in the country and society are removed with their help.

Success for ISRO
The secret of ISRO's success is that it has changed the entire economics of satellite launching. Without compromising on quality, it had made preparations for launching at the lowest possible cost. Only China can compete with ISRO to some extent in this respect. But its rate of failure is higher than that of India. Brazil is also trying to follow this example, but it is still not experienced enough in this field.

First, the self-confidence that ISRO has demonstrated through successive and successful trials. This determination for meticulous planning has raised ISRO's image in the world for launching rockets successfully. In this respect, it is included among organizations whose rate of failure is perhaps the lowest. The satellite launched recently will, perhaps, put ISRO in the category of those launched by countries like Germany and Switzerland, or countries that are far more developed, modern, and prosperous than India.

Seen in this perspective, the ISRO can serve as a good model for the country's private and public sectors. It is an organization that did not lose heart even at a time when India was being denied necessary technology. It developed technology of international standards on its own with the help of domestic resources. The Soviet Union did certainly help in the beginning but later, ISRO had to depend on itself. Outside assistance cannot be relied upon in a sophisticated field like satellite technology. ISRO had understood this truth much earlier. As a result, it is now openly competing with world powers. Therefore, there is much to be learned from ISRO.