India Did WHAT??!

What if you did something that was awesome, a first for you and your country, and the world just yawned? Can you imagine how irritating that would be? Especially if your accomplishment was nearly as important as certain other accomplishments that occurred weeks earlier? Imagine India being in that awkward position and the something significant they […]

The Indian Mechanical Martian

The above image is a great reminder of the playful part of conducting serious missions. The latest mission to Mars in this case just arrived Tuesday and was placed into Mars’ orbit. The country responsible for the mission? India. 11 months ago, in November 2013, the Indians launched the Mangalyaan, or Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) […]

PSLV: A SpaceX/ULA/Ariane Alternative?

The Indians continue proving they are in the space business for real. The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), their success with the Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV), and their continued success with their latest launch today of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Center (formerly known as Sriharikota Launching Range), are all […]

Low-cost Mars Probe Hack: Jugaad To Be Kidding Me

Americans pride themselves on entrepreneurship, independence, ingenuity, and can-do traits. And there’s historical and current evidence of those traits to support that pride. The Indians, however, seem to be quickly adopting these “American” traits, but at less expense. Or maybe the traits have always been present in India, but something was suppressing them for a long […]

The Ultimate High Ground? This Sounds Familiar…

The Indians have been getting into space in their own way. A few of my previous posts have highlighted their space activities. This latest post about India’s space activities from the website, “The Diplomat,” is interesting, in a nostalgic sort of way. Back in 2003, possibly earlier, the United States Air Force (USAF) was beating the drum […]