Tag Archives: Indian Space Research Organisation
The fever dream of ‘technological sovereignty’
I recently came across an initiative called “Industrial47”. Someone had shared a link to it on a group I’m part of, and when its card loaded, the image was of a nuclear weapon going off. I found on LinkedIn that … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged air pollution, farm fires, Indian Space Research Organisation, industrial revolution, Industrial47, LinkedIn, Rahul Seth, sewer cleaning, Shankar Nair, smokeless chulha, social harm, Social welfare, solar cooker, The Hindu, Three Gorges dam, Yarlung Tsangpo dam
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The fever dream of ‘technological sovereignty’
I recently came across an initiative called “Industrial47”. Someone had shared a link to it on a group I’m part of, and when its card loaded, the image was of a nuclear weapon going off. I found on LinkedIn that … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Op-eds, Science
Tagged air pollution, air purifier, Brahmaputra river, farm fires, genius, Gita Chadha, Homi Bhabha, Indian Space Research Organisation, Industrial47, investment fund, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Leona Woods, LinkedIn, nuclear weapon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reason of state, scientific superpower, scope creep, smokeless chulha, social harm, Social welfare, solar cooker, technological sovereignty, technologisation, The Hindu, Three Gorges dam, Walchand Hirachand, Yarlung Tsangpo river
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Solve all our problems
This is xkcd #1232. When it came out I remember it was to rebut a particular line of argument against NASA’s lunar and interplanetary missions — that the agency was spending large sums of money that would be better spent … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged Elon Musk, Gaganyaan, game theory, human spaceflight, Indian Space Research Organisation, interplanetary spaceflight, NASA, SpaceX, sustainability, xkcd
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The pitfalls of Somanath calling Aditya L1 a “protector”
In a WhatsApp group of which I’m a part, there’s a heated discussion going on around an article published by NDTV on June 10, entitled ‘Sun’s Fury May Fry Satellites, But India Has A Watchful Space Protector’. The article was … Continue reading
Posted in Scicomm, Science
Tagged Aditya L1, Indian Space Research Organisation, NDTV, S Somanath, scientific mission, solar storm, Somak Raychaudhury, space weather
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Infinity in 15 kilograms
While space is hard, there are also different kinds of hardness. For example, on April 15, ISRO issued a press release saying it had successfully tested nozzles made of a carbon-carbon composite that would replace those made of Columbium alloy … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged carbon-carbon composite, Columbium alloy, Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, ISRO Propulsion Complex, PSLV, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre
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Why not increase ISRO’s budget?
This post is in response to a question on Reddit about why the Indian government won’t increase ISRO’s space budget. There’s a good analogy in India’s research budget. As a share of the GDP, the national expenditure on R&D has … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged Department of Space, Indian Space Research Organisation, K VijayRaghavan, public outreach, Reddit, Sundar Sarukkai
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What Gaganyaan tells us about chat AI, and vice versa
Talk of chat AI* is everywhere, as I’m sure you know. Everyone would like to know where these apps are headed and what their long-term effects are likely to be. But it seems that it’s still too soon to tell … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged chat AI, ChatGPT, crew module, electronic calculator, Gaganyaan, GSLV Mk-III, Hope probe, Indian Space Research Organisation, Lvm 3, S Somanath, Ship of Theseus, space programme, UAE, United Arab Emirates
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On Somanath withdrawing his autobiography
Excerpt from The Hindu, November 4, 2023: S. Somanath, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), told The Hindu that he’s withdrawing the publication of his memoir, Nilavu Kudicha Simhangal, penned in Malayalam. The decision followed a report in the Malayala … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Scicomm
Tagged Current Science, Indian Space Research Organisation, K Sivan, S Somanath, science communication, science writing
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India’s science leadership
On October 17, the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) introduced a reading module for middle-school students called “Chandrayaan Utsav”. It was released by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in the presence of S. Somanath, Chairman of the … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged Atoms for Peace, Chandrayaan 3, Dharmendra Pradhan, Homi Bhabha, Indian Space Research Organisation, pseudoscience, S Somanath, scientific leadership
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