A.S.Kiran Kumar took charge as the eighth Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation; Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, Space Commission in January this year. In his first media interview, the veteran space scientist recently shared with Madhumathi D.S. the urgencies of the 46-year-old organisation and what lies ahead. Edited excerpts:
What is the track you would like to put ISRO on, immediately and in the future?
ISRO has a large number of projects assigned by the government. First, I want to make sure that backlogs, whatever there are, are addressed immediately. My first set of activities has been to take stock of our total deliverables and how well we are prepared to completing them - in communication, remote sensing satellites, launch vehicles or for realising hardware.
A firm action plan is taking shape in the next two to three months ... for completing the tasks already assigned to ISRO in two or three years. Then we will come out with a long-term vision.
Look at what we need to complete, look at what we need to work on in the near future and look a little farther into future - I'm in this process right now.
Could you specify a few priorities?
One of the major [issues] has been the development of the GSLV launch vehicle, [delayed] because of the various issues we faced.
You also have to first solve some of the existing problems - facilities, people, the GSLV Mark II [launcher which uses the indigenous cryogenic engine.] We are streamlining the entire Mk II activity. We have a good visibility for its cryo engine. For the heavy-lift GSLV Mk III, the indigenous development of its cryogenic engine is progressing satisfactorily.
This is the first set of activities I am trying to complete.
Where do you see the challenges?
User demands have been changing a lot, the requirements are far more than before. We have to see how these are [accommodated.] Nobody is going to accept programmes that get delayed for a decade. For example, the IRNSS navigation satellite series should have been completed during the previous Five-Year Plan period [by 2012]. But we will be completing it only by March next year. Likewise we must complete a large number of launches in reasonable time.
In the next one year we have seven launches and want to increase the number beyond that. We have facility bottlenecks. The way people work will also have to change. Everything will have to happen in a much more vigorous way [than until now].
Earlier we were engaging 12-15 departments to use our capability. Now the government is keen on using Space technology-based tools for a much larger number of departments.
It also demands greater industry interactions for getting many more things done.
What is the big picture that you see for ISRO, say by 2025 and beyond?
We should firm up our newer geostationary launch vehicle technology activities. R&D is going on for the semi-cryogenic engine to lift much heavier payloads.
It would obviously be about improving communication capability, transponder availability. We plan to bring in a high-throughput Ka-band satellite. A suggestion is to work with international [partners]. The [four-tonne] GSAT-11 would be our parallel approach.
We would also use two GSLV MkIII flights, of December 2016 and 2017, to demonstrate next-generation satellite technologies.
For the long term the planetary science body ADCOS [Advisory Committee for Space Sciences] is looking at missions such as Mars-2, Venus and a few asteroids. Chandrayaan-2 and Aditya are in progress.
The Reusable Launch Vehicle's technology demonstrator called Hypersonic Experiment is coming up, although the RLV itself will be a long way off.
There is this old grievance about shortage of transponders, mainly for the broadcast industry.
Obviously there are delays of the past. The GSLV development did take time and so also many communication programmes. We are moving on that and increasing capacity. Our ability to provide basic requirements of security cannot be compromised.
When we talk about space-based communication or transponders we should have a vision that is different from completely commercial. We should make sure we have the capability to influence the way things are happening in the country, influence and regulate the huge market, such as in terms of the service cost to the public.
You mentioned having greater interactions with industry. How do you propose to do it?
We are setting up teams to address this and plan to firm it up over the coming months. The objective is to transfer activities wherever we can. Recently the government approved 15 future PSLVs. A substantial portion of these launchers gets done in industry. In the future, may be a full launch, too, without compromising the security aspect.
How do you view the future societal role of Space?
Though there are other significant [land-based] efforts, linking remote places will be possible only through the Space segment. There is a big [Digital India] plan for enabling people down to the gram panchayat level in 250,000 villages with digital data of 20 mbps. About 20,000 villages are difficult to reach.
As the provider of the Space infrastructure, we would have a significant role in this plan, starting with a connectivity of 2 mbps. We are doing trials now in the North East. It could be for tele-medicine, tele-education, banking, village resource information or local phone connections.
ISRO is now working on a Space law.
Enacting a full-fledged Space Law has become a requirement as more and more private enterprises enter this business. It will clarify many existing issues and resolve certain ambiguities.
A draft has been circulated [to experts] and we hope to submit it to the government by the end of the year.
What is the status of the arbitrations in the Antrix-Devas contract case? Was it a trigger for the law?
The arbitration cases are going on. It is a long drawn out process with a binding on time. They have to give a verdict.
Not quite a trigger. Space is being used more and more for non-civil activities. The law should ensure Space is not misused. Who will be liable if private launches happen and all kinds of objects are put in space? These activities will have to be spelt out while enabling commercial opportunities.
