
India's ISRO conducts key crew escape test for human space mission - curtis
https://english.manoramaonline.com/news/nation/2018/07/05/isro-conducts-key-crew-escape-test-for-human-space-mission.html
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rory096
Note the early parachute detachment at 1:24. Capsule freefalls into the ocean
from that point.

Unclear if this was intentional — I've yet to see a statement from ISRO
mentioning it.

[https://www.isro.gov.in/flight-test-of-crew-escape-system-
te...](https://www.isro.gov.in/flight-test-of-crew-escape-system-technology-
demonstrator-lift-of-video)

~~~
manigandham
Youtube video:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyJEcLgzRqM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyJEcLgzRqM)

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sumedh
Why cant ISRO release high def videos?

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dingo_bat
Quite simply it's a lack of ₹₹₹, alongwith some routine government
incompetence.

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vermontdevil
This is great. The more nations can lift humans to space, the better.

~~~
snambi
why? sure it is a technical achievement. but how does it improve our life?

~~~
kumarvvr
It improves many lives in many significant ways. Atleast for Indians, it's a
huge milestone for a variety of reasons.

1\. Some technologies used in space flight are under severe sanctions from
other developed nations, to slow down the development of missile technology of
lesser developed nations (developed in the context of military technology).
There is a lot of impetus to research and develop those technologies in-house.
This leads to a huge gain to India in terms of technical skill, research
infrastructure, research know-how, experience, etc. This leads to "down-the-
hill" technological advantages in related fields (for ex. medical, industry,
etc.). Since the research is public domain, related technological improvements
are available for cheap. (A recent example is the opening up of Li-Ion battery
technology by ISRO for interested parties in the Industry)

2\. Launching a rocket, especially a manned one, is only the tip of the
iceberg. There is a huge amount of work that goes into making that happen, a
lot of which is Research & Development. Rocket technology directly leads to
better and advanced missile technology. This ensures (though some may argue
otherwise) a credible deterrent to enemies, ensuring longer periods of peace.
This directly improves lives of the citizens.

3\. There are numerous examples of technology developed to enable space flight
trickling down to medical and industrial uses.

In fact, the same can be seen in Formula 1 races. Many technologies we take
for granted in modern mass market vehicles (ABS immediately comes to mind,
several safety features, crumple zones, etc) are the result of extensive
developments in F1 racing scenes.

Even in management, having two teams competing with each other to solve a
particular problem, almost always leads to an explosion of ideas and generally
a better final solution to the problem at hand. Case in point is in the
development of the iPhone, etc.

~~~
guitarbill
I'm not really here to argue one way or the other, as trying to quantify these
things usually leads to science funding being reduced. But saying the ISRO (or
any space org) will improve lives should be met with some skepticism, no
matter how popular that justification is. There is also some fact-checking to
be done:

> This leads to "down-the-hill" technological advantages in related fields
> (for ex. medical, industry, etc.)

That's not clear at all, and even if it does happen, it is usually more of a
happy accident than a regular thing. An effective counter-argument is that
funding those fields directly should then be as effective or more.

> Since the research is public domain

I could not find any indication this is the case, but I'm limited to English.
They do have a list of technologies that they have transferred on their
website, but seems to indicate you need a license, and hasn't been updated
since 2016: [https://www.isro.gov.in/isro-technology-
transfer/technologie...](https://www.isro.gov.in/isro-technology-
transfer/technologies-transferred). I'll refrain from judging how applicable
and ground-breaking those technologies are.

> This ensures (though some may argue otherwise) a credible deterrent to
> enemies, ensuring longer periods of peace. This directly improves lives of
> the citizens.

That it "directly improves lives of the citizens" is purely propaganda, and
easily disproven by the number of peaceful nations that do not have space
programs/long-range missiles. Looking at history, disarmament is more
effective for peace than an arms race.

> There are numerous examples of technology developed to enable space flight
> trickling down to medical and industrial uses.

It should be easy to list them then. It is true that e.g. NASA has
successfully spun off several technologies used daily and in the medical
field:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_spinoff_technologies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_spinoff_technologies)
/
[https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2017/index.html](https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2017/index.html)
(as an aside, NASA's publications are a joy).

On the other hand, the ESO seems, well, less impressive. Although at least
their page on technology transfer is somewhat comprehensible by a lay person:
[https://www.eso.org/public/industry/techtrans/develcontract/](https://www.eso.org/public/industry/techtrans/develcontract/)

> In fact, the same can be seen in Formula 1 races. Many technologies we take
> for granted in modern mass market vehicles (ABS immediately comes to mind
> [...]

Ironically, ABS + F1 isn't a great example of this. ABS' history is
interesting and varied, but the most apt analogue might be Concorde, which
used one of the first - if not the first - electronic anti-lock breaking
system to avoid needing braking parachutes. (Concorde of course being funded
by the British and French governments. Whether the money invested into
Concorde was worth it, hard to say.)

In terms of improving peoples lives, I imagine F1 is probably closer to a
colossal waste of money than a net gain for humanity (I would argue the sport
agrees based on e.g. the proposed budget cap). But that doesn't make great PR.
(Also doesn't mean F1 should be banned, just that it isn't a great example.)

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ajinkyapatil
The lastest tech transfer information can be found here
[http://www.sac.gov.in/SAC_Industry_Portal/index.html](http://www.sac.gov.in/SAC_Industry_Portal/index.html)

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swatkat
Another detailed article: [https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/07/isro-pad-
abort-test-...](https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/07/isro-pad-abort-test-
indian-human-program/)

