Forbes India reports that India’s space program has been tarnished by recent launch failures and a minor scandal over allegations that the nation’s space agency gave a sweetheart deal to a private company to lease a pair of government-owned satellites for commercial use. The story says the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) needs successes in a pair of upcoming launches to regain its standing among the nation’s public.
“If nothing else, ISRO has been guilty in recent years of letting its public image deteriorate steadily and of doing nothing to arrest the slide by encouraging an open debate about its functioning. The situation spun out of control when a series of mishaps hit and the public turned sceptical about the space agency. The failure of the indigenously developed cryogenic engine in April 2010 and then the crash of the launch vehicle GSLV-F06 in December were bad enough, but the nation soon came in for another nasty surprise: The ISRO-Devas Multimedia deal for broadband spectrum that politicians and media described as a scam bigger than the 2G corruption scandal.”
RELATED ARTICLES
Indian Cabinet Cancels Controversial Contract
ISRO Satellite Leasing Deal Draws Government Scrutiny
Indian GSLV Rocket Fails Shortly After Liftoff
