Keith’s Note: According to the Times of India: “I congratulate you on the Moon landing. But as an economist let me congratulate you for doing it in a budget less than that of the movie, ‘Interstellar’. Bravo!” International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Georgieva was quoted by a source as saying at a meeting during the G20.” FYI “Interstellar” cost $165 million. “Gravity” cost $100 million. “The Martian” cost $108 million. Chandrayaan-3 will end up costing around $75 million. Just sayin, NASA.

Keith’s note: India’s Chandrayaan-3 has landed safely at the Moon’s south pole. India is the first nation to visit this part of the Moon and only the fourth nation to land successfully on the Moon. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was at ISRO mission control and made some rousing comments – among which where these words in English: “This mission was not India’s alone … The global south can achieve these things. We can all aspire to the Moon and beyond … the sky is not the limit”. Over 8 million people were watching the YouTube live stream. How often does NASA do that? There is a vast soft power potential opportunity for NASA. India has signed the Artemis Accords. NASA is no longer the only show in town. Let’s see if NASA can truly tap the abundance of pent-up, raw enthusiasm for space exploration resident within Earth’s Global South. Or will NASA just issue more press releases.

Congress Asks Questions About U.S. Policy Regarding Indian Launch Vehicles, House Science, Space, and Technology Committee “Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Space Subcommittee Chairman Brian Babin (R-Texas) today sent letters to four senior officials requesting information about the current U.S. policy governing the export of U.S. commercial satellites for launch on Indian launch vehicles. … The letters request a written copy of the administration’s policy […]

Of India and ICBMs: two current concerns for American small-satellite launch, Space Review “A primary argument of the launch companies is that lifting the ban on the PSLV will enable vehicles subsidized by foreign governments to compete against American industry. The Antrix Corporation is mainly an administrative agent of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), India’s national space agency. ISRO provides the technical operations supporting Antrix’s commercial launches. The PSLV […]

NASA Needs an Indian Tutorial, Bloomberg Review “What can the U.S. space program learn from the Indian one? Not much, if the standard is outer-space achievement: India’s modest record mostly includes feats the U.S. accomplished decades ago. But if the standard is having a clear vision of what you want to accomplish — and getting that done quickly and economically, there might be a lesson or two. Consider the speech […]

Mars Orbiter Spacecraft Successfully Placed in Mars Transfer Trajectory “The critical manoeuvre to place India’s Mars Orbiter Spacecraft in the Mars Transfer Trajectory was successfully carried out in the early hours of today (Sunday, December 1, 2013). The spacecraft is now on a course to encounter Mars after a journey of about 10 months around the Sun.”

ISRO Scrubs GSLV-D5 Launch Due to Leak, SpaceRef Business “India’s attempt at launching the GSLV-D5 rocket today with the GSAT-14 satellite was postponed due to a leak found in the second stage. The mission is a critical one for India as it is their second attempt at launching a rocket with an indigenous cryogenic engine. The first attempt failed.”

CuriousMars: 2013 to Debut U. S. and Indian Mars Atmospheric Orbiters while Challenging China In Asian Space Race, SpaceRef “Mars will be thrust into international politics during 2013 as India builds toward the planned November launch of its first Mars mission, an orbiter to study the Martian atmosphere and challenge China in a surging Asian space race.”

Desperate Nasa seeks space in Isro mission, DNA “National Aeronautics & Space Administration (Nasa) is trying hard prevent India’s first manned space mission, tagged at Rs10,000 crore,from being indigenous. And India does not seem to have a problem. …DNA has learnt that US’ desperation emanates from pressure from within their country to restart its manned space mission, which it suspended in 1972 citing huge costs. This follows a review of […]

ISRO: GSLV F06 Failure: Preliminary Findings and Further Steps “The finding of the Preliminary Failure Analysis Team is that the primary cause of the failure is the untimely and inadvertent snapping of a group of 10 connectors located at the bottom portion of the Russian Cryogenic Stage. Some of these connectors carry command signals from the onboard computer residing in the Equipment Bay (located near the top of the vehicle) […]