The Indian Space Programme: India's incredible journey from the Third World towards the First.

by Gurbir Singh

Fifty years in the making, India’s Space Programme is fulfilling the vision of its founders and delivering services from space that touch the lives of 1.3 billion people every day. In addition to operating a collection of satellites for weather, Earth observation, navigation and communication, today has a spacecraft orbiting Mars and a space telescope orbiting the Earth. This book provides the big picture of India’s long association with science, from historical figures like Aryabhata and Bhaskara to Homi Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai, the key architects of its space program. It covers the scientific contribution of Indian scientist during the European enlightenment and industrial revolution through the work of physicist S.N Bose, experimentalist J.C. Bose, mathematician S. Ramanujan and Nobel Laureate C.V. Raman and othjers. It traces the technological development of Tipu Sultan’s use of rockets for war in the 1780s; the all but forgotten contribution of Stephen H Smith’s use of rockets as a means of transport in 1935 in northern India and the emergence of Sriharikota – India’s spaceport. Key questions about the Indian Space Research Organisation covered in the book, include; a detailed account on why a fishing village in Kerala was used to launch India’s first rocket into space on 21 November 1963, what types of launchers India has developed? How are the ordinary people of India benefit from the space programme? How India got to the Moon and Mars? What are the prospects for India’s ambitions in space for human spaceflight, military and science? In space will India compete or collaborate with China, USA and Russia? This detailed work in 645 pages, 29 tables and 9 appendices is richly illustrated with 140+ illustrations (some images published for the first time) and supported by over 1000 references. It is written for the non-specialist offering a big picture view of India’s space program – its history, current status and future ambitions, all in one place.

878 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 4, 2017

Reviews

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

People should pay, no matter how hungry so the rich and powerful should name space junk after their favorite god. Truly a reason to be proud and die of hunger.