Tag Archives: Indian Space Research Organisation
On the PixxelSpace constellation
The announcement that a consortium led by PixxelSpace India will design, build, and operate a constellation of 12 earth-observation satellites marks a sharp shift in how India approaches large space projects. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis
Tagged Dhruva Space, earth observation, IN-SPACe, Indian Space Research Organisation, Piersight Space, PixxelSpace India, satellite constellation, SatSure Analytics
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The Zomato ad and India’s hustle since 1947
In contemporary India, corporate branding has often aligned itself with nationalist sentiment, adopting imagery such as the tricolour, Sanskrit slogans or references to ancient achievements to evoke cultural pride. Marketing narratives frequently frame consumption as a patriotic act, linking the … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Culture
Tagged consumerism, corporate branding, Independence Day, India After Gandhi, Indian Space Research Organisation, Ramachandra Guha, The Times of India, Winston Churchill, Zomato
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Frugality is a toxic chalice
From ‘Earth Imaging Satellite NISAR Exposes NASA’s Weaknesses, ISRO’s Strengths’, NDTV, July 26, 2025: At the end of the day, the US scientists have swallowed their pride and are sheepishly going to watch the launch of a satellite where they … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Scicomm
Tagged frugality, Indian Space Research Organisation, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, launch insurance, NASA, NISAR, Space Applications Centre, synthetic aperture radar
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Watch the celebrations, on mute
Right now, Shubhanshu Shukla is on his way back to Earth from the International Space Station. Am I proud he’s been the first Indian up there? I don’t know. It’s not clear. The whole thing seemed to be stage-managed. Shukla … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Science
Tagged Axiom-4, Gaganyaan, Human Space Flight Centre, human spaceflight, Indian Space Research Organisation, International Space Station, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shubhanshu Shukla
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Enfeebling the Indian space programme
There’s no denying that there currently prevails a public culture in India that equates criticism, even well-reasoned, with pooh-poohing. It’s especially pronounced in certain geographies where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) enjoys majority support as well as vis-à-vis institutions that … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged Axiom Space, Axiom-4, Bharatiya Janata Party, Board of Control for Cricket in India, Chandrayaan 2, Covaxin, Department of Space, Election Commission of India, Falcon 9, HUNOR, Indian Space Research Organisation, K Sivan, NASA, political capture, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, S Somanath, Shubhanshu Shukla, SpaceX, V Narayanan, VG Somani, Vikram lander
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Four years
Engineering as a methodology … contains a fundamentally materialist kernel, even if its present incarnation as a bourgeois science drives engineers to think and behave otherwise. — Nick Chavez, Engineers, Materialism, and the Communist Method After school, I studied mechanical … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Life notes, Scicomm, Science
Tagged Air India, Axiom Space, Axiom-4, bourgeois science, CP Snow, engineering, engineering education, flight crash, Indian Space Research Organisation, International Atomic Energy Agency, Israel-Iran conflict, materialism, MV Ramana, Nick Chavez, nuclear weapons, science journalism, SpaceX, temporary expertise, two cultures
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India’s next man in space
NASA/SpaceX/Axiom will make their next attempt to launch the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station on June 11. Axiom Space’s tagline for the mission is “Realizing the Return”, alluding to three of the mission’s four crew members, including India’s … Continue reading
Subtracting from science funding
‘NavIC’s hurdles project govt’s reluctance to fund innovation’, Hindustan Times, February 7, 2025: India … chose a more cautious path. For decades, we’ve been telling ourselves that we’ll invest in science “when we’re economically better off.” It’s both prudent and a … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged defence spending, gross expenditure on research and development, Hindustan Times, Indian Space Research Organisation, NavIC, NVS-02 satellite
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