On May 25, 1961, US President John F Kennedy, speaking at a joint session of the Congress, urged members to provide funds towards putting man on the moon. The space programme came at a huge cost, however.
While stressing on his belief in the benefits of going to the moon, Kennedy said, "I believe we should go to the moon. But I think every citizen of this country as well as the Members of the Congress should consider the matter carefully in making their judgment, to which we have given attention over many weeks and months, because it is a heavy burden, and there is no sense in agreeing or desiring that the United States take an affirmative position in outer space, unless we are prepared to do the work and bear the burdens to make it successful...”
Decades later, what Kennedy was trying to persuade America to do is what the Indian Space Research Organisation has been doing in India – without speeches. The argument that a poor country like India doesn't need to spend money on its space programme has been made often, but the country's space programme has, rightly, forged ahead.
After the milestone of the successful Mangalyaan Mars orbiter mission in 2014, India’s first ever indigenous reusable launch vehicle space shuttle RLV-TD HEX-01, was tested successfully on Monday. Once used commercially, this is expected to cut down costs for launching satellites in the future.
While each success is celebrated as a national victory, there is, admittedly, the matter of the huge cost to consider. It has been said that the Mission to Mars was cheap compared to global spends, but it still cost $74 million according to a 2013 report in The Economist, which also states that “India’s overall space programme costs roughly $1 billion a year”.
But then satellites provide direct benefits to people. Besides better communications, mapping, weather observation and military capacity at home, India’s Space launch vehicle – the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) – is among the most reliable launch vehicles in the world. It has been used by 19 countries to launch their satellites, and the service earns revenues for ISRO.
Kennedy says in his speech, “It is a most important decision that we make as a nation. But all of you have lived through the last four years and have seen the significance of space and the adventures in space, and no one can predict with certainty what the ultimate meaning will be of mastery of space.”
In a more famous speech he made in 1962 at Rice University, he said, “We choose to go to the Moon!”
India is choosing to go to space, without debate or distractions.
Buy an annual Scroll Membership to support independent journalism and get special benefits.
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!