Kasturirangan: Not sure if nations revealed all on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight

Former ISRO chairman and Planning Commission member K. Kasturirangan delivered a keynote address on ‘India in Space — A Conceptual Framework for the 21 Century’

April 09, 2014 12:24 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 07:27 pm IST - NEW DELHI:

Former ISRO chairman and Planning Commission member K. Kasturirangan and Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed during the Dr. Satish C. Seth Memorial Futurology Lecture in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photo:Sandeep Saxena

Former ISRO chairman and Planning Commission member K. Kasturirangan and Planning Commission member Syeda Hameed during the Dr. Satish C. Seth Memorial Futurology Lecture in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photo:Sandeep Saxena

Nations engaged in the massive search for the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 might not have revealed all the information they would have gathered and may choose to come out with the same later as it will also give an idea about a nation’s technological advancement, former ISRO chairman and Planning Commission member K. Kasturirangan said here on Tuesday.

“There may be more information on the missing flight, which the nations may choose to come out with after some time or put out a package after due deliberations. I am not sure if they have revealed all,” Dr. Kasturirangan said at the Dr. Satish C. Seth Memorial Futurology Lecture organised by the Indian Council of Management & Future.

The former ISRO chairman delivered a keynote address on ‘India in Space — A Conceptual Framework for the 21 Century’, in which he deliberated upon India’s space achievements and research being conducted for developing space elevators, global navigation system, efficient space transportation system, space tourism and other areas.

To a question on the level of development in space technology and oceanography in the wake of over 27 nations not being able to trace the missing flight, Dr. Kasturirangan said he was “not sure if what is appearing in the media is all that we have on the missing flight. Not sure if the nations are revealing all because it will give away an idea on that nation’s capability of catching signals, no matter how weak, that they must have gathered”.

He, however, said he would not like to say more on it.

In his address dedicated to Dr. Seth, the father of future studies, Dr. Kasturirangan said India has launched 111 missions — 69 satellites and 42 launch vehicles —giving it independent access to space and is now working on developing cost-effective launch vehicles which can return to earth like an aeroplane instead of blasting off.

He added: “Hopefully, in another 10 years, we [India] will have a navigation system as good as the Global Positioning System of the United States.”

He also stressed on manned space flights for better research work and the huge investment required, extensive studies for future habitation on Mars and using moon as laboratory for planetary science or intermediary platform to go to other planets, and developing space tourism by exploring public-private efforts.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.