ISRO back in the global spotlight with ‘India’s eye’ in the orbit

Introductory Memo: The successful launch of GSLV-F17 carrying the 2,367-kg EOS-05 satellite marks an important milestone for India’s space and national-security capabilities, as the satellite is expected to strengthen Earth observation and surveillance. The mission comes at a time when ISRO and the Department of Space are facing a shortage of scientists, engineers and technical staff, with thousands of sanctioned posts remaining vacant due partly to competition from the private sector. The government has therefore introduced measures to retain employees and plans to fill vacant positions while encouraging private investment in space activities. Although employee unions and political groups have raised concerns about the increasing role of private companies in ISRO-related activities, the government and ISRO maintain that private participation will help expand India’s space sector without weakening the organisation.

Analytical view/ Analysis: ISRO regaining its upper hand and establishes the strategic magnificent eye .It makes India a superpower after US and China. It is great achievement I national security, defense and protection of our citizen. With the GSLV F17 soaring into the sky, ISRO, which had suffered a setback in between, has once again returned to a significant place in global attention. This satellite, described as India’s eye in the sky, is also regarded by the international community as a major achievement. At 2.55 a.m. on September 4, GSLV  F 17 lifted off from the second launch pad at Sriharikota. It was not merely a launch. It was a strategic turning point in India’s space history. With the 2367-kilogram EOS 05 satellite placed into orbit, India, for the first time, acquired its own Geosynchronous Imaging Satellite.

EOS 05 is India’s first step toward the global surveillance capability previously achieved only by the United States and China. Until now, all Earth observation satellites launched by India had been travelling in low orbits at an altitude of 500-600 kilometers. They orbit the Earth. Once they pass over a particular location, they have to wait for hours to reach the same place again. If enemy activity takes place in the meantime, they will have changed position. The view of the new satellite, located at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers, is different. At once, the whole of India, Pakistan, China up to Tibet, and the entire Indian Ocean will come into the frame. A new image every 5 minutes. Eyes that see equally well at night and during the day. It has not only an ordinary camera, but also multispectral, hyper spectral, and infrared sensors capable of seeing through clouds, darkness, and fog. Even on a cold night, it can detect the heat from a human body. This is what the ISRO chairman meant when he described it as a ‘satellite for national operations’. Experts say that it is meant not only for agriculture and weather, but also for national security. That is precisely why National Security Adviser Ajit Doval visited ISRO in Thiruvananthapuram a few months ago.

Pakistani terrorists will now have no place to hide or wage a covert war. From terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to the Kahuta nuclear facility, infiltration attempts along the Line of Control, activity at launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and the construction of military bunkers, everything will be under India’s surveillance 24 hours a day. Even if a Chinese warship approaches Gwadar port or Chinese soldiers land in Balochistan, India will see the construction along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor in real time. This closes Pakistan’s avenue for secretly assisting China. When the fuse of a missile launch is lit, if a missile such as Shaheen is launched, the satellite will capture its flame from 36,000 kilometers above. Pakistan will no longer be able to conduct even a nuclear test secretly.

China’s entire war strategy is based on unexpectedly massing troops. That is what it did in Galwan. The new satellite will put an end to the movements of enemy countries that use darkness as cover to bring vehicles and war materiel to various areas along the border. Military experts see this as India’s answer to China’s surveillance system, Yaogan. China today has more than 50 military surveillance satellites. EOS 05 is India’s maiden entry into this field. If 4 more satellites like this are added, India will have a network capable of monitoring the whole of Asia 24 hours a day.

Enemy presence in the Indian Ocean can be identified within minutes. If Chinese or Pakistani submarines or surveillance ships enter India’s maritime boundary, they will be detected the moment they come above the water. In the future, this technology will even be able to detect submarines based on thermal variations in the sea. The biggest secret is the system for identifying the enemy EOS 05 does not operate alone. Its technical data will go directly to our military’s Integrated Theatre Command. That means if the satellite spots a target, within seconds that information will reach the designated soldier deployed at the border, an Air Force aircraft in the sky, or the controllers of a Brahmos missile. This capability to attack within minutes of detection is the real fear. Not just the weather, but a constant sentinel that counts every breath of the enemy and helps India win its war is EOS 05.

Meanwhile, there has been a major decline in the number of ISRO scientists and engineers. As a result, the central government issued an order imposing restrictions on voluntary retirement and resignation in the Ministry of Space and all its affiliated institutions, including ISRO. It is assessed that the central government’s decision to allow the private sector to enter areas including rocket launches and satellite manufacturing, and to open space research to the private sector as well, has adversely affected the functioning of institutions including the central government organization ISRO. Scientists and engineers are reportedly leaving the Ministry of Space and institutions including ISRO for private organizations that offer highly attractive salaries and other associated benefits compared with the relatively low government-level salaries. The central government imposed restrictions on voluntary retirement and resignation to prevent this. 2025-26 is the period in the last 25 years when the number of employees has been the lowest. At least three out of every 10 sanctioned posts are currently vacant. The central government has sanctioned a total of 20,269 posts in the Ministry of Space. Only 14,637 people are currently in service. 5,632 posts are lying vacant.

The attrition of employees is becoming a setback for the Ministry of Space while it is moving ahead with several strategic projects, including Chandrayaan and sending humans into space. In 2001-2002, when 16,423 posts were sanctioned, 14,847 people were in service. The fact that the number of employees is now lower than that is the reason for imposing restrictions on resignation and voluntary retirement. There are now 2,600 fewer employees than there were in 2019-20. Scientists, technical experts and engineers have been the most affected by this. They are the ones who manufacture satellites, launch vehicles and rockets, and carry out the control responsibilities of space missions. Those concerned say that the crisis in ISRO and the Ministry of Space is a result of the crisis that has affected the industrial sector after Covid. Recruitment rules were also tightened after Covid. The vacancies have significantly affected operations at the Human Space Flight Centre in Bangalore, VSSC in Thiruvananthapuram, Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, SAC in Ahmedabad, NRSC in Hyderabad, LPSC in Valiyamala, Thiruvananthapuram, ISRO Propulsion Complex in Mahendragiri, and ISRO headquarters in Bangalore. The Department of Space has already begun steps to fill 1,500 posts on a war footing before October 26 next. Another 1,000 posts will be filled before December 31 this year. The central government aims to fill all sanctioned posts within a time-bound manner and thereby maintain India’s current lead in space development. The central government also aims to bring private-sector investment into space research areas and to use the money currently being spent for more productive purposes.

Following the successful launch of the satellite, employee unions came forward alleging that privatization was being carried out in ISRO, and this is being viewed as an anti-national move. Left-leaning unions were mainly at the forefront of opposition to this. Former ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair had also spoken out against the privatization move in an interview given to Asianet. However, ISRO said in an official press release that there was no need for any concern over these moves and that the objective was a more comprehensive development of ISRO’s functioning. After the employee unions responded again, dissatisfied with this, Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan himself issued a statement. On Tuesday, the CPI(M) Politburo came forward demanding that the privatization of ISRO be stopped. The central government had already announced that it would seek to improve the functioning of the space sector through private participation. The first rocket from the private sector had soared into space last month. While space research and rocket launches are being carried out by the private sector across the world and even space tourism is being made a reality, it is in India that the Communist Party and its influential unions are coming forward.

News at a Glance: Through EOS-05 ISRO regains its space in the scientific world. Left organizations and CPM are spreading baseless campaign on privatization.

Social Media Pulse: Plenty of viral write ups by science writers.

On Our Reading List: Indian Express, Pioneer, The Hindu, ISRO web site, write ups from space scientist

Reference

1. The Indian Express https://share.google/QqWCD5pE04pvpU54l
2. News18 https://share.google/fFHWWQRTmsUIAu6mg
3. The Hindu https://share.google/G1NWPQgRHUe9UV3j1
4. Rediff https://share.google/wY3DT5G4zq9V3hKiS
5. Daily Pioneer https://share.google/ZReFAl7haCeyCWGzK
6. Hindustan Times https://share.google/Hd8iFtZakinLqAOpF
7. ISRO https://share.google/UV7LMJIrSSpDVf3Jr
8. The Hindu https://share.google/RdLKzQdyrMJC6Njkd
9. YouTube https://share.google/F8aTpdqJlHBHJLbSd
10. NDTV Profit https://share.google/2SHzx3SsjLZXX0dVs
11. Facebook https://share.google/QoRAucCw3DxEXacwH
12. YouTube https://share.google/gN29oFQBMuyWYtZhk

Article by: G K Suresh Babu