Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 25: The celebration of the ‘Diamond Jubilee’ of India’s first sounding rocket launch from Thumba in Kerala aligns remarkably with the historic achievements of Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya-L1 missions in 2023, Union Minister of State for Space, Dr Jitendra Singh on Saturday.
The year 2023, marked by the successful Chandrayaan-3 landing on the Moon on August 23, was officially declared ‘National Space Day’ by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Dr Jitendra made these remarks at the Commemoration of the 60th year of the First Sounding Rocket Launch held at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launch Station (TERLS).
During the event, Dr Singh witnessed the ceremonial launch of a sounding rocket from the same Space pod where the original launch took place on November 21, 1963. The symbolic countdown was announced by Pramod P. Kale, who had read out the countdown during the first launch 60 years ago.
Addressing the media, the union minister emphasized the significance of Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya-L1 missions in showcasing India’s indigenous capabilities and fulfilling the vision of Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the founding father of India’s Space Programme.
He highlighted the extensive use of Space Technology in various sectors, including SVAMITVA, PM Gati Shakti, infrastructure development, agriculture, water mapping, telemedicine, and robotic surgery. He expressed gratitude to PM Modi for initiating Space sector reforms, making Space accessible for Indian private players, and releasing a comprehensive Indian Space Policy in 2023.
The Union Minister noted the success of the Startup boom in the Space sector after the introduction of reforms, with over 150 Space Startups emerging. He also mentioned India’s goal to achieve its first manned Space Mission ‘Gaganyaan’ by 2025, a lunar sample return mission, and the ‘Bharatiya Antariksha Station’ (Indian Space Station) by 2035.
Dr Jitendra highlighted the cost-effectiveness of India’s space missions, citing the example of Chandrayaan-3’s mission cost of approximately Rs 600 crore compared to the Rs 16,000 crore spent on a Russian moon mission.
In the last decade, India has seen significant growth in Space missions, with 53 launch vehicle missions at an average of 6 launches per year. ISRO has launched over 380 foreign satellites, contributing substantially to India’s Space economy.
Referring to Amritkaal and the Prime Minister’s vision for “India@2047”, Dr Jitendra said the value addition to India’s economy is going to come from hitherto unexplored sectors including the space sector.
“Due to the opening up of the space sector, the emergence of Space Startups and industry linkages, India’s space economy could skyrocket from about $8 billion at present to $100 billion in the years to come, as projected by foreign trade experts who are amazed by India’s quantum leap,” he said.
