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COVER STORY: GSLV LAUNCH
INTERVIEW: K. KASTURIRANGAN
"To Be Really Big We Need Large Investments"
K. Kasturirangan, ISRO's ebullient chairman,
spoke to Deputy Editor Raj Chengappa soon after the launch of the
GSLV. Excerpts from the exclusive interview:
 Q.
After GSLV, is India up there with the big boys in space?
A. I
hesitate to classify us as either big, medium or small. With a shoestring
annual budget of $500 million (Rs 2,350 crore) we have made a major impact.
In the US, NASA alone spends $15 billion and Europe's Ariane $5 billion.
So it depends on the parameters. If you are talking about just building
and launching satellites, yes we are now a space power and a growing one
at that. But to be really big we need to make large investments. With
just one or two launches we will not be able to make space a vibrant industry.
We need a threefold increase in investments.
Q. Why hasn't private industry in India cashed
in on space as yet?
A.
It is a chicken and egg problem. Industry would like to come into space
in a big way if there was a large enough market. Right now, they think
it is not exciting enough in terms of market potential. We have been talking
to industry and offering technical knowhow for the manufacture of total
systems. We have even said they can use our infrastructure and build the
vehicles themselves but so far they have not responded.
Q. How about ISRO commercialising its GSLV
capabilities?
A. We
are examining the possibility and have started discussions with a strategic
partner where we could offer a package deal with GSLV for countries wanting
satellites with the lower weight that we are offering.
Q. But ISRO hasn't exactly gone about hawking
its services for money as it should have, has it?
A.
We already have a large national demand for our services. Naturally, when
you develop this capability, the throughput is higher than just the number
of rockets needed to produce. This throughput is what we are trying to
offer for commercial exploitation. We are not in the same league as Ariane
Space whose primary purpose is to market the system. It is the extra capacity
that we have that we would like to offer to the world. At this juncture
our bigger emphasis is assuring cost effective space services for national
development.
Q. So where does GSLV fit in the scheme of
things?
A. For
us GSLV is a big step. It gives us a quantum leap in our launching capability.
Currently we depend on space launch vehicles made abroad and pay around
$75 million for each launch. So we will save on that. Also, India's dependence
on space is increasing in terms of providing services in areas of communication
and broadcasting. Obviously the infrastructure needs to be expanded and
made more sophisticated. But we would still be dependent on other foreign
space launchers for heavier classes of satellites.
Q. Critics say that GSLV's carrying capacity
of two tonnes makes it commercially less viable.
A. When
we went ahead with the design of GSLV our ambition was to launch insat
class satellites in the weight range of 2 to 2.5 tonnes. It is primarily
tailored to meet our requirements. The fact that we still use such satellites
means that other countries too can and will do so. So we can open a market
area for this class of satellites which is cost competitive.
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