When hearing the words “space station,” the International Space Station probably comes to mind; but the International Space Station wasn’t the first nor was it the only space station ever conceived for scientific space research. In fact, China, Russia, and the United States each previously launched their own space stations before the ‘International’ Space Station became a thing.
All three of the aforementioned nations are space superpowers, but the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is working overtime to earn India a spot in this elite group. Perhaps unsurprisingly, that also involves launching its own space station, an ambitious move that ISRO announced plans for earlier this year. But will they succeed?
Fact: every nation that has ever launched a space station has experienced some sort of failure, but important learning experiences accompanied those failures. India is still in the midst of developing its space presence, and with no space station track record, it’s indeed very possible that a first attempt could end just like those attempts made by other nations on their first try. Then again, they could also get lucky – there’s no way of telling until it actually happens.
A lot goes into designing and launching a space station, from conceptualizing, designing, funding, and building it to finally launching and deploying it for scientific use. After that, ISRO would be responsible for tracking and maintaining their space station, which includes ensuring a stable orbit and avoiding space debris. That’s a lot to overcome for a country that hasn’t even sent a human to space on its own rocket yet…
ISRO could very well defy the odds that appear stacked against them, but as the wise would say, only time will tell.