Sky is not the limit

BACKSTAGE

On January 10, 2006, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman G Madhavan Nair was on cloud nine, and why not, ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C7) had successfully injected four satellites into orbit on its 10th flight.

"We will challenge anybody else to do better," said an elated Nair. The launch was flawless and the satellites were injected with precision. Since the launch was close on the heels of the failed GSLV mission in July last year, he had reason to feel satisfied.

Just weeks after this textbook launch, Nair was again in the limelight as ISRO, for the first time ever in the Indian space history, brought an orbiting satellite (Space Capsule Recovery Experiment) back to earth. This technology will help India develop a reusable launch vehicle (RLV) for future space launches. At present, only the US, Russia and China have the capabilities in bringing back an orbiting satellite to earth.

The PSLV launch was a little more than a scientific mission for Nair. It was under him (as the project leader for the PSLV project) that the PSLV was born in 1993. While the first launch (PSLV-D1), on September 20, 1993, was a failure, the second in October 1994, was a success. Nair recalls this as the most exciting moment in his life.

"Coming after the failure, even if due to a minor software error, it was a touching moment for me and is difficult to describe in words, how I felt," says Nair.

The PSLV has had nine consecutive successful launches proving its reliability and enabling India to enter the launch service market by launching six satellites of others.

The GSLV failure was a "setback" for the ISRO and Nair, even though it's well known that the failure rate of space launches is about 8 per cent. But the failure ensured the GSLV failure analysis committee addressed the issues so as to not repeat the mistakes during PSLV's launch.

The journey from Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) to the chairman's post of ISRO, which employs about 17,000 people, was a learning experience for Nair. In his capacity as secretary to the Department of Space (DoS), he manages about Rs 3,610 crore (this fiscal's budget), for high-end research.

"Despite his tight schedule, he keeps track of each and every project. Although we have a mission readiness review board and launch authorisation board, he makes it a point to listen to everyone involved, from the scientists at the integration centre to those at the ground station," says a senior ISRO scientist.

Nair's association with space science dates back to 1967, even before the ISRO came into existence in 1969 under the Department of Atomic Energy. A fresh engineering graduate from Kerala University, after his training at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Nair joined TERLS in 1967. Since then, he has been involved with satellite launch vehicle (SLV-3), PSLV and GSLV.

Nair believes in the value of technology percolating down to the grassroots. "Whatever we do, it should benefit people. I strongly believe in using space technology for the benefit of the common man," says Nair.

The ISRO, off-late, has started initiatives like village resource centres (VRCs), telemedicine and the Edusat programme through satellite. VRCs have been implemented in over 160 villages all across the country where farmers can avail of weather information, soil types, groundwater prospects. Besides, 184 hospitals in remote areas have been covered by ISRO's telemedicine programme. Currently, 10,000 classes have been connected under the ISRO-Edusat programme, including 100 engineering colleges under Visvesvaraya Technical University (VTU) in Karnataka, which aims at providing distance education.

Nair, who has got two extensions "" one in 1993 and other in 1995 "" will retire in October 2007 if his present term is not renewed. But before that, he will spearhead two or three more projects, including the repeat flight of GSLV, the launch of Insat-4B by Ariane, and the launch of Italian Satellite AGILE on board PSLV.