As 2024 began, India’s workhorse rocket, the PSLV, blasted off into space on a clear, blue day from Isro’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. On board was the XPoSat, or the X-ray polarimeter satellite. It is only the second space mission in the world to launch such an instrument into space that will study the behaviour of certain types of particles, especially X-rays, which travel from far reaches, and can help astronomers unlock new cosmic secrets. The launch came on the back of what was easily the most notable year for India’s space agency, thanks to the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission and the launch of the Aditya-L1 spacecraft. Like the XPoSat, the other two are extremely rare feats. In fact, Chandrayaan-3 was the first successful lander to reach close to the south pole of the Moon.
That the agency has kept up the momentum is not merely a matter of pride, but a reflection of the growing ability of India’s space scientists. Isro was set up in 1969, a year when American astronauts set foot on the moon. The arc of evolution since has been impressive — India’s space agency now boasts of its own rockets and is working on indigenous human space flight modules and reusable rockets. In the next couple of years, it plans to send the first India-made spacecraft with humans into outer orbit. And in between its own milestones, it deploys rockets to send satellites for other nations into space. There are few examples as inspirational for a generation of young people globally as Isro is to Indians. And such inspiration will be crucial as India accelerates to the forefront of the space race. These might be the years when India’s space agency sows the seeds of a homegrown SpaceX. The sky is no longer the limit.
