Space, Technology, and Visions of National Progress in India
India’s space program attracted international admiration in 2023 for becoming the first country to successfully land a craft on the moon’s south pole. The program is now in its sixth decade and stands as one of India’s most successful technology missions, not least for the hard currency revenues it...
| Published in: | Current History |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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University of California Press
2024
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| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/curh.2024.123.852.123 https://online.ucpress.edu/currenthistory/article-pdf/123/852/123/812281/curh.2024.123.852.123.pdf |
| Summary: | India’s space program attracted international admiration in 2023 for becoming the first country to successfully land a craft on the moon’s south pole. The program is now in its sixth decade and stands as one of India’s most successful technology missions, not least for the hard currency revenues it generates. The reasons for this success are less well known: they include inspired early leadership, considerable foreign assistance, a strategic decision to leapfrog traditional “stages of growth,” and relative autonomy from India’s powerful state bureaucracy. Over the years, the space program has moved from being a developmental focus to serving as a lens through which the nation views itself and its place in the world. The essay closes by imagining what its founders would think of the space program today. |
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