THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former President and space scientist APJ Abdul Kalam has urged India’s national space agency to market the commercial potential of its launch vehicle and satellite products aggressively.
“The PSLV C9 mission launching precisely ten satellites, including eight satellites for international customers and our own, has made every Indian proud. I was extremely delighted to see the first pictures from CARTOSAT 2A and Indian Mini Satellite-I,” he said while addressing a meeting to facilitate the scientists at the Indian Space Research Organization here. Referring to the Chandrayan, India ‘s Moon mission scheduled for next month, he said the mission has a purpose beyond studying the features of moon. “The Moon is going to be a source of special materials, minerals and also it could be an intermediate base for Mars mission,” he said.
By the beginning of next year, the youth satellite of PSLV will be launched and it would be a platform giving connectivity to the youth of multiple countries. “I am recalling the messages conveyed by 50 satellite missions and 26 launch vehicle missions and various technology strengths developed by ISRO in the last 50 years. ISRO is the sole agency in the country for space efforts. It is a government agency. With no competitor, what inspires ISRO to excel? Its programs are self-driven. Its schedules are self-drawn.
Invariably they are optimistic and success-oriented. The ISRO team members consisting of engineers, scientists, technical staff and administrative staff are extremely committed and focused on their goals.
