Manoj Ambat's Blog dealing with Defence, Foreign Affairs, Strategic Affairs and Politics

GSLV Mark-3 ( Image credits- ISRO) Indian space program is making huge strides in International stage. But still, it is only the tip of the ice berg. India can achieve more. The Diplomat in an in depth article looks at the issue in detail ( The article can be read here .....)

GSLV Mark-3 (Image credits- Wikimedia Commons/ISRO) Congratulations to Indian Space Research Organisation ( ISRO ) for the successful launch of GSLV Mark-3 (D-1) in it's maiden voyage. You have made the nation proud.  A little insight into  what GSLV  Mark-3 is all about and why this launch is so important for India: The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III is a launch vehicle developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).  It is intended to launch satellites into geostationary orbit and as a launcher for an Indian crew vehicle. The GSLV-III features an Indian cryogenic third stage and a higher payload capacity than the current GSLV Mark-1 and 2.  Development for the GSLV-III began in the early 2000s, with the first launch planned for 2009-2010.Several factors have delayed the program, including the 15 April 2010 failure of the ISRO-developed cryogenic upper stage on the GSLV Mk II. A suborbital flight test of the GSLV-III launcher, w

Image credits- ISRO Source- Russia & India Report Author-  Yuri Karash , Vzglyad A couple of decades ago, the assumption that India was capable of claiming a part of the launch services market would have appeared too bold. Launch services had been securely divided between the US, Russia and Europe. At that time, India was only "learning" to fly into space, building sub-orbital vehicles, and light-class carriers that could deliver a few dozen kilograms of load to a low Earth orbit. The technology is not for everyone The situation changed in the early 1990s. India then developed and commissioned the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), a middle class launch vehicle, which has performed 35 test flights to date, of which all but one have been successful and one has been partly successful., making the PSLV’s reliability rating almost 95%, placing it on par with the best Russian, US and European carriers. The most major achievement of the Indian spa

ISRO's MOM ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Nesnad) Source- The Dipomat Author- John Johnson Freese The world rightfully applauded when India’s Mangalyaan spacecraft began orbiting Mars in September 2014. After all, new entries were being logged in the record books: India became the first Asian country to reach Mars, the first country to orbit Mars on its first attempt, and only the fourth country to orbit Mars, with such space heavy-hitters as the United States, the Soviet Union and Europe. But who pays attention to record books any longer when it comes to space anyway? Everyone. The benefits for India to be seen as a space power range from regional and geostrategic influence vis-à-vis China, to raising the credibility of sophisticated space technology produced by Anthrix, the commercial arm of India’s Space Research Organization, credibility accompanied by potentially substantial economic returns. Additionally, India achieved its success reaching Mars i