Slashdot Mirror
ISRO Launches Record 5 UK Satellites, Part of a Long String of Successes
vasanth writes: India launched its heaviest commercial space mission ever with its polar rocket successfully putting five British satellites into the intended orbit after a flawless takeoff. With the overall mass of five satellites being about 1,440 kg, this launch becomes the "heaviest commercial mission" ever undertaken by ISRO and its commercial arm Antrix Corporation.
The workhorse of India's space program, the PSLV is on a run of 25 consecutive successful launches. First flown in 1993, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, or PSLV, is by far India's most-used rocket for orbital missions – accounting for thirty of the country's 46 launches to date including Friday's.
The workhorse of India's space program, the PSLV is on a run of 25 consecutive successful launches. First flown in 1993, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, or PSLV, is by far India's most-used rocket for orbital missions – accounting for thirty of the country's 46 launches to date including Friday's.
India in particular refuses to be the manufacturing center for the developed world
Correct. India refused to do that. Instead, that role was taken by China, which 30 years ago was poorer than India. Today, China is four times richer. China has much higher literacy, only a quarter as much infant mortality, a tenth as many underweight children, and is growing at more than twice the rate of India. India made that choice, but you are the first I have heard claim that it was a smart decision.
Instead they focus on jobs that make sense for the modern world
60% of Indians work as subsistence farmers on tiny family plots. They have a bloated civil service bureaucracy that employs twice as many as China's. Less than 1% of Indians work in tech, and less than 0.0001% work for the space agency.