live and let live

I still remember the front page of Malayala Manorama [wiki], on Jul 13, 1998, the day after India’s second ASLV[wiki] rocket launch failed. ISRO[Indian Space Research Organization] failed to place a 150 kg satellite in to 250 miles perigee. Almost everyone in India following the news was really frustrated at that time. It was before the fall of the Berlin wall, achievements in space were considered as a matter of great national pride. I am not saying it is not a matter of national pride in India now, but I am not seeing the level of enthusiasm accompanied with previous launches. It is already off as the main story in the Indian news sites. My friends in India offered a different perspective on the subject, when I contacted them last night. I will publish those as an update to this blog entry.

Here is the video of launch.