"We want to build a space station that exceeds the size of Tiangong in three years! Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said firmly. With the successful launch of the Shenzhou-12 manned spacecraft, China's first manned mission was successfully achieved.
Astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo entered the Tianhe core module, achieving a historic breakthrough for Chinese to enter their own space station for the first time. This feat has aroused enthusiastic responses at home and abroad.
However, our neighbor India, having learned of this, once again made alarming statements. If India dares to issue such a slogan, its level of aerospace technology will certainly not be too bad, otherwise wouldn't this be a slap in the face?
So, what is the real level of Indian astronautics? We will start from the initial stage, development process and current situation of India's space industry, analyze the achievements of India's space industry, their advantages and disadvantages one by one, and see the real level of India's space industry.
In 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched the first artificial satellite in human history, which marked the gradual realization of human exploration of the universe. In that year, an Indian man named him proposed that Nehru set up his own space research department in an effort to put India at the forefront of space exploration.
However, at that time, India's economic situation was worrisome, and it was also facing local disputes, and a large amount of money was used to buy ** from other countries, so Vikram's proposal was not taken seriously by the higher authorities.
At a time when the technology of the world has not yet matured, some people in India have put forward the slogan of space exploration, but it has not been immediately approved, which is really a big regret for India.
In 1961, the Soviet Union successfully implemented manned space flight, and the coveted space exploration of mankind was no longer a fantasy. Subsequently, the Apollo moon landing program of the United States was launched, and China also began to develop artificial satellites.
The actions of these countries rekindled Vikram's determination, and he constantly proposed the creation of a space research department to **, which eventually won the Prime Minister's support. The following year, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was formally established, separate from the defence research department, reporting directly to the country's prime minister and free from interference from the military.
At the same time, in addition to independent research, India also sent five scientists to NASA to learn advanced space technology. One of them, Kalam, later became the father of Indian missiles and even served as the 11th Prime Minister of India.
The other four became the chief engineer of the Dunba Space Center and the father of Indian satellites, respectively, and made outstanding contributions to India's space industry.
In 1975, India's first domestic satellite was launched on a Soviet launch vehicle, and although the satellite's solar panels had problems and it only worked for 4 days before it completely lost contact, this saved face for India and allowed them to focus on developing a domestic launch vehicle.
Four years later, after nearly a decade, India's first domestically produced launch vehicle, SLV-3, was successfully developed, and the first launch is scheduled to take place at the Sriharrigota launch base.
However, this first launch, which was of great significance to India, did not achieve the desired results.
The SLV-3 launch vehicle is a four-stage fuel-booster launch vehicle that is responsible for launching space probes such as artificial satellites, manned spacecraft, and space stations into predetermined orbits.
However, the mainstream of this rocket in the 70s of the last century was the ** launch vehicle. India adopted a four-stage fuel booster model, which was very rare at the time.
Many people may think that this is because India is very technologically advanced, but the answer is actually no. The engine thrust of India's self-developed launch vehicle is insufficient, and scientific researchers have no choice but to add one more stage.
In contrast, the Long March 1 carrier rocket transporting Dongfanghong-1 adopts the first-class fuel booster mode, with thrust of 502kn, 267kn, 90kn and 26kn at all stages.
The gap between the two can be seen from the data, and what happened later also confirms the fact that India's first launch vehicle was not qualified.
On August 10, 1979, India erected a 22-meter-high SLV-3 launch vehicle on the launch pad at the Sri Rigogada base, symbolizing India's ability to independently launch satellites into space.
Researchers from India's **high-level** and the Ministry of Aerospace were present to witness this historic moment. After the commanders counted down, the rocket soared into the air in flames and smoke, and the scene was spectacular, attracting proud applause from everyone.
However, the proud smile didn't last long. Less than three minutes after the rocket took off, the booster valve in the first stage of the rocket failed, and the SLV-3 launch vehicle fell into the sea of the Bay of Bengal from an altitude of 10,000 meters under the watchful eyes of everyone.
A historic moment in India's space industry, which should have been witnessed at this moment, ended so tragically. For a time, the Indian Ministry of Aerospace became the object of close pursuit by the major ones.
In the face of all kinds of questions from reporters, the Minister of Aerospace, Sadish, under the watchful eyes of the people of the whole country, made a military order: We will definitely succeed next time. In the following year, the staff of the Indian space department made every effort to investigate and verify the SLV-3 launch vehicle, hoping to wash away the shame of last year.
On July 18 of the following year, the SLV-3 launch vehicle was again erected at the launch site of the Sri Helrigota base and successfully launched the satellite into the intended orbit, making India the seventh country in the world to have the capability to launch a launch vehicle independently.
In the 80s of the 20th century, although the SLV rocket was able to send artificial satellites into space, its thrust was limited and its overall performance had great limitations. In order to close the gap with the world's space powers, the development of new rockets has become necessary.
So, after 7 years of painstaking research, the ASLV launch vehicle came into being, although this rocket with a five-stage structure and all-solid fuel proved to be a failure in the next tests, it undoubtedly provided valuable experience for Indian astronauts, and gave birth to two new SLV rocket series.
The failure of the ASLV rocket did not defeat the Indian astronauts, who combined the lessons of the past to successfully develop a more efficient PSLV rocket. At the same time, India has also developed a GSLV rocket with a larger payload capacity with the help of Russia, and India's rocket research and development capabilities are already at the forefront of the world.
Despite the fact that India is slightly inferior to our country and the United States and Russia in terms of launch vehicles and artificial satellites, it is still in the second echelon. With the advancement of science and technology, deep space exploration has gradually attracted the attention of various countries.
Countries and regions such as China, Japan, Europe and India have begun to invest in the field of deep space exploration. India planned to launch its first lunar rover in 2007, but it was postponed to October 2008 due to immature technology and other reasons.
As a result, India became the fifth country in the world capable of conducting deep space exploration, a little later than China and Japan.
Chandrayaan-1 was launched aboard a PSLV-C11 rocket in October 2008 and successfully obtained a geological map of the Moon, a mineral map of the Moon and a topographic map of the Moon.
Unfortunately, in August of the following year, Chandrayaan-1 suddenly lost contact with Earth, and India's first lunar exploration program was not successfully completed. As we all know, more than a year ago, the Tianwen-1 probe was successfully launched aboard a Long March 5 rocket, marking China's ability to explore Mars.
However, China is not the first Asian country to receive this honor. Some people may wonder if the first Asian country to launch a Mars rover was Japan?
In fact, this honor belongs to our neighbor India.
India's self-developed Mars rover "Mangarion" was successfully launched on November 5, 2013 aboard a polar-orbiting satellite launch vehicle, and successfully entered the orbit of Mars on September 24, 2014, becoming the fourth country or organization in the world to successfully explore Mars.
The Guardian reported that India's goal is not to detect signs of life on Mars, but to compete in an interstellar race with their neighbor China and fight for the lead.
In fact, India has almost always followed China in the space sector, such as the launch of artificial satellites, manned space programs, and lunar missions. However, when it comes to Mars exploration, India is ahead of China.
Therefore, the idea that India wants to get ahead of China in the space race is obvious.
As early as 2007, China reached an agreement with Russia on joint Mars exploration. Two years later, China's first Mars rover, Firefly 1, was built and ready to be launched into Mars orbit by Russia's Zenith rocket.
However, due to the accident of the Russian Mars rover "Forbes-Soil", the Firefly-1 also failed to successfully enter the orbit of Mars. In this way, China's first attempt to explore Mars unfortunately failed.
China's defeat undoubtedly gave India confidence, and four years later, India has made a major breakthrough in the field of Mars exploration.
In 2017, India's "Firefly-1 Mars Rover" shocked the world with a feat of 104 stars and broke the space record. However, when it comes to rocket-launched satellites, the first thing that comes to mind for most people is the United States, Russia, and China's One Arrow 2 and One Arrow 3 satellites.
However, India's technological breakthrough in the 104-satellite technology was not achieved overnight, and there is a fundamental difference between it and the 3-satellite technology of China, the United States and Russia, that is, the orbit of the carrier satellite.
Most of the more than 100 satellites launched by India are nanosatellites from all over the world, and India's mission is to put these satellites into a unified orbit.
This launch is actually the completion of a commercial order from various countries to put a large number of satellites into the same orbit, and it is not difficult to enter orbit. In general, India's feat of 104 stars did not reach the level of a technological leap, but only completed a commercial order, although it is still commendable, but compared with other space powers, there is still a gap in technical difficulty.
Although the multi-satellite technology has been realized in India and other countries, there are still great technical difficulties compared with the multi-satellite technology in China and other countries. In recent years, due to the restrictions of the Wolf Act, it has been difficult for China to receive similar commercial orders.
The development of artificial satellite technology has been relatively mature, and the Soviet Union and the United States began to study how to shoot down satellites in space as early as the Cold War stage of the last century, and conducted research for decades on satellites that might be used in war.
On March 27, 2019, India successfully conducted its first anti-satellite experiment, becoming the fourth country after the United States, Russia and China to have such a capability. Although the satellite for this experiment is only in low-Earth orbit at a distance of 300 kilometers from the ground, it indicates that the development of India's space industry has matured.
In July of the same year, India launched the Chandrayaan-2 probe, hoping to make a breakthrough in the field of lunar exploration. However, India's lunar exploration program was not successful, and the Chandrayaan-2 probe lost contact with the ground during a soft landing and failed to achieve its intended goals.
Despite this, India plans to conduct a third lunar exploration to achieve a soft landing of a probe and obtain lunar soil, further advancing scientific research.
The goal of Chandrayaan-2 has always been the desire of the Indians for manned space technology. Since 2003, ISRO has been working hard to advance its manned space programme.
However, in the past 10 years or so, India has made great efforts in manned spaceflight, but it has never succeeded in realizing it. The program has repeatedly been bogged down by budgetary and political factors, and is even at risk of dying.
After the successful construction and launch of China's space station, India once again announced the resumption of its manned space program, and plans to realize space programs such as exploring Venus, manned spaceflight and landing on the moon in the next 10 years.
However, due to the impact of the pandemic, it is still unknown whether India will be able to proceed as planned.
Although India's space industry started late, it developed rapidly in its later years due to its complex national composition and unique democratic background. However, over-reliance on the technical support of other space powers has become a hidden danger for India's space industry.
A series of accidents in the past have amply illustrated this problem. In the history of India's space development, whether it is the failure rate of GSLV rocket launches or the loss of contact in the two lunar exploration projects, it shows that India lacks core technology in space technology and cannot establish a space system with independent intellectual property rights.
India's dream of a space power faces challenges: technological blockade and dependence India has cherished the dream of a space power since independence, but it still has a long way to go in the face of technological blockade and dependence on space engineering by world powers.
Unlike China's space program, India's space development is very dependent on the support of other countries. Core components need to be purchased, and core talents need to be hired externally.
This dependence not only limits the speed of India's space development, but also makes India's space industry relatively low in the international arena. To become a veritable space power, India needs to change this dependence, strengthen independent research and development, and establish an independent industrial system.
Only in this way will India be able to make a breakthrough in space technology and enhance its scientific and technological strength and international status.