BHUBANESWAR: Scientists will be able to find ways and means for higher propulsive force in near future to conquer the space, said renowned Indian aerospace scientist Nambi Narayanan on Wednesday.
Delivering the SAITED 2024 talk at SAI International School here, Narayanan, who played a significant role in India’s space programme at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said, “Propulsive force is what holds us back from conquering the space.”
“Currently, we don’t have the rockets that could take us to any altitude. Chandrayaan takes four to five days to reach moon, while reaching Mars takes about 10 to 11 months. Once the higher propulsive force is achieved, we could take a big leap towards conquering space,” he said.
The 82-year-old former ISRO scientist hoped that one day, scientists will eventually find ways and means to get higher propulsive force for the spacecraft. “This in fact is going to be a necessity in our quest to find new space,” he said.
Narayanan said former President APJ Abdul Kalam had also dreamt of crew recovery programme in 1966-67 when India didn’t even have a rocket for the same.
“Fifty years later, as I had predicted earlier, this is going to come true in the Gaganyaan project planned by the ISRO recently,” he said.
Narayanan further said ISRO is the perfect example of how a model organisation can perform if it is freed from any kind of mismanagement. He also expressed desire for establishment of an Asian Space Agency (ASA) in line with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of United States and the European Space Agency, to bring together countries to generate funds for space research programmes.
The veteran scientist who was wrongly accused of espionage in 1994 but later proven innocent, said it took about 19 years, 53 engineers, additional support of another 1,000 engineers and 200 industries to develop the Vikas engine. “Unfortunately, it was later alleged that we transferred the technology in fishing baskets to Pakistan. This how the ISRO’s spy case was born,” he said.
On the occasion, Narayanan asked students to dream big.