In a spectacular culmination of 40 years of determined efforts, India’s launch into one of the world’s most exclusive, and prestigious, clubs was absolutely flawless. With the successful launch of the EDUSAT satellite by the first operational GSLV rocket, the country became only the sixth nation capable of building and successfully placing an operational payload into geo-stationary orbit.

In plain-speak it implies that the country can build complex satellites and launch them at will, in an extremely tricky operation, into the most important orbit around the earth. Writer Arthur C Clarke will doubtless smile on seeing two of his cherished dreams being finally realised. He was the first to propose, in 1945, that satellites placed in geo-stationary orbit at 36,000 km above the earth’s surface and moving at the same speed as the rotation of the earth could be used for communication.

To an observer on the surface, a satellite placed into a slot in this orbit would appear to remain parked in his own orbital backyard. A globe-girdling network of satellites in such an orbit now forms the bedrock of a system that beams most communication signals into our homes and offices. The second reason for Clarke’s joy would be the realisation of his long-espoused view that developing countries should actively use space technology to better the lives of their people and steer clear of the abrasive nationalism that fuelled other space efforts.

The Indian space programme has, in this respect, been unique because of its moorings in the larger national development effort. The country is, in fact, a pioneer in using satellites for educational purposes, with its first such experiment being in 1975.

EDUSAT will have a seven-year life span and should initially be able to reach over 50,000 students across the nation. The government must actively promote and fund the network that depends on this satellite and look to ultimately connect lakhs of students, especially in rural areas, with this unique endeavour.

India, on the other hand, still has some way to go in the space fraternity, as it seeks to develop ways to surmount the obstacles placed in its path by another country. Chief among these are the need for indigenous cryogenic engines and more powerful versions of the GSLV, both of which are needed for the country to be able to break into the lucrative market for satellite launches.

Nevertheless, in all the buzz surrounding the prime minister’s US visit perhaps adequate note was not taken of those 17 breathtaking minutes on Monday evening. It’s time we did so and doffed our hats to the hard-working men of the Indian Space Research Organisation.

<B>Times of India</B>