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India's Successful Commercial Satellite Launch
An anonymous reader writes "Yesterday India successfully launched an Italian astronomical satellite. A BBC article (view video clip) notes that the launch grants India membership in the exclusive group of nations that can sustain commercial satellite launches. India's launch vehicle has less overall capacity than the competition — up to 1,500 kg to orbit — but the country plans to sweep the low end of the market by offering the lowest cost per launched kilogram for smaller payloads."
I have read a lot of Sci-Fi books (even the Firefly series on TV) and the general consensus is that the next superpowers will be India and China.. I guess this just fits right into the timeline...
My Slashdot Journal! YAY!
It's a good thing to see another country getting into space. Pretty soon we'll have Bollywood 24/7, but I hope that the Indian government can use their own satellites to help improve the lives of the average Indian citizen.
'Loose' is when your pants are three sizes too big. 'Lose' is when you misuse 'loose'.
Astronomical satellite? Are the Italians still trying to prove that Earth is at the centre of the solar system and the universe?
ISS: Houston, we have a problem.
New Delhi: Hello, please spell your name and give me your complete customer ID.
Intron: the portion of DNA which expresses nothing useful.
GO INDIA! Seriously.
Oh, you mean Little Superstar
First Quickie Mart in space?
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
I think that this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Space_Research _Organisation article has some good details about the Indian Space program, for those interested.
Wonder what Pakistan thinks of this?
We have always been at war with Eurasia!
I hope this will help them to curry favor with other space-industrialized nations.
Or, at least use the rockets for ICBMs to mess up the lives of the average Chinese/Pakistani citizen. Remember, one of the goals of the original space race was to show the enemy that anything could be dropped on them at any time.
I wonder if the U.S. will turn a blind eye to such things (like we did with our recent fissionable materials agreements) because India is currently our friend...
you are such a karma wh0re
There more important launch is that of Chandrayaan, India's Lunar Probe. That will show them getting out of Earth's well, as well as ability to send a probe elsewhere. That helps everybody WRT to understanding what is on the moon esp at the poles. Do not get me wrong. I am not trying to be glib about India's success. But they have done numerous other LEO (and I believe a couple of GEO) launches. So other than being commercial, it is nothing.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
What CAN'T you outsource to India?
And there's a "thank you, come again" joke around here somewhere...
No, my dear friend, I am an Indian. And I want people to get to know more about the Indian program before they claim that the money could have been better spent on "sanitation" instead :-)
Support NYCountryLawyer RIAA vs People
Haha, very funny and so very relevant. Try not to be an ass next time.
Having a lower cost would smooth attracting clients to a new player, and make that player most attractive for expansion, but are they really going to "sweep" (replace) the competition in this weight class?
The statement sounds like marketing to deflect attention from having the lowest single-load capacity. ie, 'Our tech isn't the biggest, but it's the most efficient; we know what we're doing - we're not a half-assed national pride effort.'
It is too much to ask, that a link labeled "nations that can sustain commercial satellite launches" might actually include information about which nations can sustain commercial satellite launches?
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
It is a good job, but launching rockets is not rocket science. One dark possibility is that they are having problems with the six strap on booster configuration and are trying to salvage a reduced capacity vehicle from the detritus of a failed project. I remember the crash of ASLV (a fore runner of PSLV, two strap on booster on their basic SLV-3). My prof was in the post martem committee and was ranting on and on about how dumb their simulation of booster rocket was. "Thrust is 100% for 45 seconds and 0% after that? Why didn't the stupid hacks code up the table of thrust vs time from the static firing?" or something along those lines.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
and you call the control center that is monitoring the satellite's orbital decay, you get a Bangalore employee named "Bob" who asks you to reboot your PC.
india will be sending another covert operative over the pakistan border to "Fireworks-R-Us" to resupply for their next space launch..
thank you thank you i'll be here all night!
VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
Do you suppose they have to call the US for technical support with the satellite and then complain because they can't understand our accent?
load "$",8,1
India had launched commercial satellites way back in 1999 "IRS-P4 (OCEANSAT), launched by Polar Satellite launch vehicle (PSLV-C2) along with Korean KITSAT-3 and German DLR-TUBSAT from Sriharikota (26 May 1999)." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Space_Research _Organisation
Huh. Will this help in reshaping Indian shrewd politics?
I love Indian cuisine. And now I rejoice in the knowledge that should I ever make it into orbit I can send for a curry!
Only political science and social work majors use "betterment" when the rest of the English-speaking world would use "improvement".
Drill baby drill - on Mars
Here is a picture of the multi-arm craft:a pati.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8d/Gan
I've all but stopped reading /. threads on Indian technical developments. The predictable torrent of snide little stereotypical racist comments that seem to get modded 'funny' is a bit off-putting, and they usually outnumber any vaguely interesting or informative comments by about 7 to 1. The /. crew needs to grow the hell up.
Drill baby drill - on Mars
So, more orbital debris. But at least this will be smaller stuff.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
Comment removed based on user account deletion
According to various reports, they charged the Italians USD 11 million for the launch of the 350 kg satellite. Roughly $30k per kg while international norm is 10-15k per kg for LEO. Also the launch cost them $15 million. So the launch is still subsidized by the Indian government and they are charging the customer more than the market rate. How is this "commercial", and how is it competitive?
"the country plans to sweep the low end of the market by offering the lowest cost per launched kilogram for smaller payloads"
And why not? It's been working VERY well for them so far. Replace "launched kilogram" with "line of code" and "palyoads" with "projects" and you have the very foundation of the Indian tech boom.
Can we put a beowulf cluster up there?
"nations that can sustain commercial satellite launches."
More accurately, "nations that can support the launching of commercial satellites". If a nation's support is required, it's not a commercial launch, it's a government launch. The parent's wording is misleading. That doesn't matter to most people. It does to those interested in commercial space development.
Governments do these things using peoples' money whether or not they want their money used that way. Companies do things with their own money and make more money by selling it to people who want it. There's no competitive market forces acting on a government, and so no expectation of profitability or even reasonable cost, which depends on being affordable to end users.
"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid." -- Bishop 341-B
> the country plans to sweep the low end of the market by offering the lowest cost
Oh great. I just switched careers from programming to aerospace because my programming job was outsourced to India.
Porn industry, here I come!
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
Second, the Indian customer service phenomenon, which is the majority of cultural humor on this topic, is a big deal in India; has made a huge impact on life there--and they have their own sitcom about it!* Do the jokes get cliched and watered down after a while? Certainly. And some are much better than others. But I for one am glad that they are there.
Drill baby drill - on Mars
<confused>I thought they already were... </confused>
"..."
I'm wondering how this will affect Elon Musk and the SpaceX effort. They've intended to target the low-end of the launch market, and now they're up against a major nation. I would guess SpaceX can rely on some domestic military and academic research contracts, but that could rapidly become a competitive market as well. I wish both the Indians and Elon well, and hope to see vigorous competition that drives down the price per pound/kilo and delivers safe, reliable access to orbit.
...the lowest cost per launched kilogram for smaller payloads... What would be the price to get my 67kg mother-in-law into orbit ?
Seastead this.
slashdot is a news site for techies.
the tech field has been outsourced out from under them, and what has not been outsourced from under them has been cut off or smothered by the dmca.
indians need to realize that while theyre getting the snyde jabs theyre also walking away with all these people's jobs.
VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
In the /. view of the world, India consists of two kinds of people - one who make curry and the other who answer phones. Obviously the rocket scientists who helped launch this were answering phones at night..or making curry in your local Indian restaurant.. it's funny even if it's repeated ad nauseam.
/.'ers think nothing of constantly making disparaging remarks about Indians when it's their jobs that are being threatened. For the record I don't like the RIAA or Microsoft, but I don't like hypocrisy either.
Oh and I love how Microsoft are anti competitive and the RIAA are bullies but
I am sure if India establishes itself as a commercial player and can start making a profit from launching satellites, this could prove to be *very* important. If not to the rest of the world (though I am sure the other commercial launchers are watching closely) then at least to India's domestic space program. I am sure the Indian government is far more likely to listen to their scientists requests to send up costly science experiments into space if the space program is closer to financial self-sufficiency.
Obviously the military will be more than happy if a large number of successful launches go ahead as a result: this will be a clear message to potential aggressive neighbours that India has a reliable delivery system to anywhere on the planet for 1000kg nuclear warheads.
Yes, they already are. But overall, they are in big minority. But when it comes to India, any discussion if full of 'funny' posts.
And _that_ is racism, what the GP was pointing to.
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Well for one: hamburgers
Can someone please have India or China outsource my soul? I'm sure they would be able to live my life better than me currently.
Some facts about 100 yr old steam trains. Their railways system does not consist of 100 year old steam engines but mostly of electric engines running on electrified tracks and diesel engines in other areas. Steam engines are a thing of the past and are only used for luxury trains or demo purposes. While being the largest gov department in the whole world, they carry a huge volume of passengers every day. And they also have to make sure that the railway service is affordable even for the poor section of society. With the number of trains running on their humongous system, delays happen quite often. However, in this field too they have improved a lot in the last 25years. Their Railway system isn't perfect, but they are working on improving it.
I agree they need to work on other social aspects but that doesn't mean they should remain oblivious of other technological aspects that they should work on. Plus another thing to take into consideration is the inertia involved in starting any kind of development project in a country like India. Oh and did I forget to mention that bureaucracy and corruption all over the place!!
Drill baby drill - on Mars
Just google my name, go ahead, do it.
And don't forget to click on the first result.
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... somewhere in the market dynamics and complexity of operation.
Next invalid speculation... Did India also muscle the Italians into paying more than the market rate or REALLY, are the Italians paying more money than market can demand because the Italian born Sonia Gandhi is the leader of a large (in power?) political party!!
Low end of the market is saturated by ex-ICBMs. A space launch is a better way of getting rid of an old ICBM than a usual burning of fuel on the ground. So ICBM launch is a gain even if there's no payload. How are they going to top that?
Ironically, an atom bomb in India would weigh less than most other places. If you look at a gravitational map of the world, you will see that the Southern tip of India actually has a lower gravitational pull than most other areas in land. Almost 5% less than the norm.
For space travel, this means that they can actually shoot off rockets for cheaper than other places because they need to use less fuel for a lighter load. I'd be curious to see what this translates to in real world cost savings.
Hopefully, as time passes the standard of living will increase across the board, but as this happens, the price of labor will also increase, which will temper further growth. There are right now people willing to work on burger flipping, professional sports, show business and other highly dangerous jobs for pennies a day. That labor force is part of what has made USA successful in modern times. The population is huge and while good education exists, it's not available enough to all people or areas of the country.
Whether or not it is wise for a nation like USA to invest in space systems and other high tech projects is subject to debate. On one hand, there are a lot of smaller local projects which the money could go to, but at the same time, diving into the world of high technology, electronics and aerospace may be the best bet for bringing such a country to the forefront.
They've come a long way, but lets not forget that they still have a long long way to go. Hopefully countries like USA can become a model for how third world nations can rapidly improve their economic and social situations.
First call center on the moon in 18 months!
With all due respect,India doesnt have "STEAM" trains:) We electrified or use Diesel Electric locomotives for almost 30 yrs now. You are right however in your overall assessment that India still have many challenges left and still poor farmers are committing suicide in some states and there is a huge lack of adequate infrastructure specially in roads and energy for rapid high intensity industrialization. However it is improving and peoples' quality of life has improved and continues to improve. When India became an independent nation after 200 yrs of slavery to Brits and 700 to muslims, it had 20% people over proverty line, 44% infant mortality rate and 35% literacy. In roughly 50 yrs they achieved, 75% over poverty line, 21% infant mortality rate and 65% literacy with many states like Kerala and West Bengal with 100% literacy. They launched a 100 days of guaranteed work per year program for poor workers in villages that is being copied by countries like China and Brazil. And while the festering problems with head in sand nations like Pakistan continues, India lifts more and more people out of poverty every hour. Considering it was only 50 yrs and they didnt have a Marshall Plan and billions of dollars to spare, I think they have done well and are on the right track. These miniature space launches are just morale boosters, since any enslaved country requires such acts like going to space or blasting a nuke or landing on moon to feel equal, its in my humble opinion has not much to do with others as it has to do with the people in India itself.
In a perfect world, there should be no Bushes
Hi buddy I feel your anguish about outsourcing. But you need to set your facts straight. Without colonization, neither Europe nor US would have been industrialized. It is basic mathematics - automation/industrialization makes several workers redundant and they would lose their jobs.The question would be whether the economy continues to grow so as to permit them to find new jobs. If you don't have colonies, the surplus produce cannot be sold and thus the economy *cannot* grow. India was the secret of Europe's industrialization. Lots of Indian farmers/artisans have died out of starvation to make this happen. USA is nothing but an *usurped* country which was needed to settle down Europe's unemployed population. It did not have to face the population pressures and economic stagnation - because a *huge* country and its natural resources were just stolen to begin with. The Americans also had the advantage of an European upbringing which introduced them to industrial-level education. USA cannot wash itself away off the European sins of colonization. USA had been an obvious necessity to thwart off the pains of unemployment that industrialization created in Europe. It is seriously childish to believe that a country can somehow industrialize by itself. Who would buy the products, my friend ??? Now, the current process out globalization is very much necessary to the economic upliftment of the rest of the world. Atleast, it is a relatively humane process unlike colonization. The important fact that should be noted is that US economy *continues to grow* thereby potentially creating more avenues of employment. We guys in India did not have that option during those 300 years when we were pillaged off our natural resources.
I'm from a part of Ohio that suffers from a general lack of black people, but we sure do have plenty of niggers. They talk like niggers, act like niggers, and look like niggers. They even drive niggermobiles like only a nigger can: Up high on polished 24s, all leaned over the center console so their head looks to be almost in line with the rearview mirror but yet somehow tilted back so far that they're nearly sitting in the back seat, hanging onto the steering wheel with one limp-wristed hand wrapped up in a heavy gold bracelet, with a stereo booming atonally, just loud enough to attact attention.
(Alternatively, there is the poor nigger, in a middle-90s Oldsmobile that is either off-white, maroon, or teal with a cracked tail light, a failing headliner, a dent in the side, and unusually high levels of body rust. The posture and jewelry are the same, though.)
It really is the funniest fucking thing, watching these pasty white niggers roll around town. It's even funnier to watch them try to walk, yammer into a cell phone, and try to keep their pants from falling the rest of the way down - all at the same time.
The point is: Just because a word is used in racist speech does not mean that the word itself is racist. My stereotypical Ohioan whiteboy nigger is just one example of that, as the term applies equally to the few black niggers that we have, too.
To me, at least, the word has got nothing to do with skin color, but is instead about my perception of people's personal choices and actions.
Kid-proof tablet..
I'm not entirely sure why people always seem to think that if a country is relatively poor and underdeveloped as of now, and at the same time quickly catching up in some aspects, whereby of course profiting from the availability of cheap labor as a result of underdevelopment, it by some kind of necessity must overtake today's highly industrialized nations at some time in the near future.
Underdevelopment might be a momentary boost but has never been a guarantee for unlimited development, as, a some point in the process of catching up, it starts wearing off.
Afer all, underdevelopment is NOT an economic advantage.
By the way, back to the topic: When are the US going to build ordinary, economically sound, simple rockets again? The space shuttle is probably the most expensive tool in existance for bringing devices to an orbit, so where are the cheap, unmanned alternatives? Is the private sector going to take this part in the near future?