SpaceX's historic launch ushered a new era of spaceflight: ISRO Scientist

In a collaboration with a private company named SpaceX, NASA has launched the first-ever crewed spaceflight from Cape Kennedy in Florida. In this regard, ETV Bharat had an exclusive interview with veteran ISRO scientist Prof. Maqbool Ahmed and he said that the launch was particularly significant and the private companies should be encouraged in the aerospace sector.

Hyderabad: In a historic movement, the SpaceX became the first commercial company to launch a rocket carrying humans into orbit on Sunday and it marked the first instance of American astronauts being launched into orbit since 2011.

In this regard, ETV Bharat had an exclusive interview with veteran ISRO scientist Prof. Maqbool Ahmed and he said that the launch was particularly significant and the private companies should be encouraged in the aerospace sector.

Speaking to ETV Bharat, Prof Ahmed said, "It is the significant and remarkable move of NASA and SpaceX as it is now the first company to send passengers to orbit on a privately made vehicle. Taking machines into space is a very easy job but I will say it is a good job because taking humans into space is a very risky and it is a remarkable start of the SpaceX and NASA."

"NASA was running very successfully the space science programme and the Space Shuttle programme. But it was so unfortunate that in 2003, a tragic incident occurred in the space and the world lost seven astronauts which were included our Indian origin lady, Kalpana Chawala. However, that programme was also stopped due to tye back to back failure and space shuttle programme finally ended in 2011," Prof Ahmed said.

"This launch is a critical moment for Elon Musk’s SpaceX company. It’s also a major test for SpaceX as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Programme. Through that initiative, NASA enlisted two companies, SpaceX and Boeing, to develop new spacecraft that could regularly ferry the agency’s astronauts to and from the space station," he said.

"Money plays an important role in such kind of initiatives. NASA paid 80 million dollars per person which is Rs 640 crore in our currency. If we will compare with our ISRO, then the data says that we have also paid Rs 800 crores for sending the spacecraft to Mars. This comparison shows how the expenditure matters when a private company offers a low amount for the same project, "Prof Ahmed said.

"Elon Musk-led SpaceX has ensured that he will only take $60 million per person which is around Rs 480 crore in Indian currency and it is a huge saving. So NASA has the best opportunity to nurture their private player for the space mission and it is going to be useful for America," he said.

Speaking about India's progress, Prof Ahmed said, "ISRO is also gearing up for the private player attachment and a new private space transportation company named TeamIndus has joined with us. For now, it is the only Indian element in the NASA lunar scheme and has been working fairly with ISRO. So in the future, we have also an opportunity to send our private players to the space mission."

Notably, the last time people launched to orbit from the US was during the final flight of NASA’s Space Shuttle on July 8th, 2011. Since then, Russia’s Soyuz rocket has been the only vehicle available to do crewed flights to the ISS, and just one seat on the Soyuz runs NASA about $80 million.

Reportedly, this is the first instance of astronauts using a privately built and operated spacecraft to launch into orbit. Nasa astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley joined three other astronauts aboard the ISS and the two are expected to remain there for the coming months.