South Asia Satellite launched-India aces space diplomacy test

Science Affairs Space

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Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has put India's space diplomacy into the orbit which PM Narendra Modi had desired three years ago, with the successful launch of the South Asia Satellite, marking a new era in regional communication and integration. The Prime Minister had asked Isro in 2014 to develop a SAARC satellite that can be dedicated as a 'gift' to the country's neighbours. It was earlier referred as the SAARC satellite, but was renamed after Pakistan opted out of the project.

Also called the Geostationary Communication Satellite-9 (GSAT-9), it will have a footprint that extends all over South Asia, allowing six neighbouring countries to use its benefits. This is in line with India's neighbourhood first policy, which leaders from all the member nations of the project acknowledged. The project cost India an estimated Rs 450 crore (including launch cost and other variables), while the satellite itself costs about Rs 235 crore. The launch, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, is being widely seen as a display of India's soft power and regional influence.

Applications:

Natural resources mapping, tele medicine, the field of education, deeper IT connectivity or fostering people-to-people contact -- this satellite will prove to be a boon in the progress of the entire region.
The satellite is meant for providing communication and disaster support, connectivity among countries in the South Asia region. As the region is highly prone to earthquakes, cyclones, floods, tsunamis, it may help in providing critical communication links in times of disasters.
It will also provide a significant capability to each of these participating countries in terms of DTH, certain VSAT capacity plus links for both disaster information transfer and also in terms of library type of things.
The satellite is also expected to help support their water conservation initiatives, by providing data, forecasting weather and sending alerts on natural disasters.
With India's GSAT-09, South Asian countries can also save the investment they would have had to make on developing a communication satellite and launching it.

Conclusion:

India is the strongest in Space missions among these countries in the region, since it has developed and lauched its own satellite launchers and satellites and has placed itself among the elite group of space exploring countries. While Sri Lanka has its own communication satellites, it was deployed with the help of China. Bangladesh is in the process of developing a satellite with the help of a French firm. Afghanistan also has a communication satellite, an old India-made satellite acquired from Europe. The Indian project will be of great benefit to Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives, which do not have space programmes of their own and are particularly susceptible to climate-related disasters.

India has written a new chapter in the sphere of space diplomacy by launching the South Asia Satellite, which has been described as India's "priceless gift" to its neighbours. As the relations with Pakistan and China are strained in connection with the border disputes, the smaller neighbouring countries which are closer to India geographically would be a support for the country's security. There is no doubt the country is actively trying to counter China's growing influence over its neighbours through this satellite.

Practice Question: Discuss applications of GSAT-9 satellite & explain how it can help in regional integration? Will India's strident regional space diplomacy yield results?

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