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This is sheer awesomeness, not just with regards to what they are doing but how they are doing it. ISRO is operating at a near throw away budget, almost a near
by kamaal 13y ago
This is sheer awesomeness, not just with regards to what they are doing but how they are doing it. ISRO is operating at a near throw away budget, almost a near rounding error in India's national budget. And these people have delivered at a whole new level.
I remember when chandrayaan-1 was launched, that morning I was traveling early morning to office. It was a big moment in the history of Indian space research, we were so excited we were hardly able to work the whole day. ISRO is just redefining how government run institutions must function.
On a side note, I went to ISRO as a part of our college's industrial tour. Many of my classmates just dismissed the whole thing and never showed up for the tour as they wanted to go to IBM, Microsoft and Google etc. Of the few of us who went there, we had a humbling experience as to what we saw. There were no AC rooms, plush cubicles, carpets and other perks we have in our large Indian IT companies.
These people were working on ordinary steel tables, with a near dying fan over their had, windows open and sipping tea in a steel cup for 50 paise. And these guys were writing the control system software that would run on the moon mission. It was an humbling experience.
- kops 13y agoMany a times I used to be stuck behind an ISRO bus while driving to office. Their bus can be described as more suitable to transfer prisoners than the best minds in the country. Then they will go off to work on rocket science as I inched my way towards building a web application for GM. Feels kind of weird. I guess it is about time that their funding is increased to be more in line with the quality of people they have and their contribution to the country. Hats off to the whole lot at ISRO, BARC, TIFR and myriad other such institutes...
- zhaphod 13y agoI have fond memories of ISRO. I did my internship there working on wavelets and remote sensing data. ISRO is a shining diamond compared to all other government agencies here in India. Go ISRO.
- fromdoon 13y agoThanks for your comment Kamaal. I think most of us realize the intangible value that ISRO creates. Space Tech is here to stay. The cooperation between NASA and ISRO is commendable and shows the weight ISRO carries in the current Space Tech world. We might have many many problems in India but we have to remember that we are human beings too. We also carry a sense of adventure. We also strive for the unknown. Space Tech is an art, more so in case of ISRO given there small budget. Here are a bunch of people who want to ride to the frontiers of space from whatever meagre resources they have and they deserve a standing ovation for that. Not only for achieving what they have, but also for trying it. For every naysayer, there would be hundreds who would stand in awe of every step anyone with a heart filled with dreams takes. For there is a little child in everyone of us who still hasn't given into the negativity of this modern day life and somehow believes in the most daring challenges. For that is what makes us human and our evolutionary history is an indisputable proof of that. Godspeed ISRO.