ISRO chief exhorts startups to work with space sector

Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University organised the 12th convocation on Friday. The chief guest of the event was Chairman of  Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Dr Sreedhara Panicker  Somanath.
Dr Somanath congratulated the graduating students and said that their success in future life both personal and professional would be determined by attributes including passion, commitment, excellence, determination, focus and learning ability.  The great recognition does not come by accidents, it comes by a lot of effort which is consistent with your commitment towards that, he said.
He also advised the graduating students that failure was not a bad thing and asked them to stay humble and grounded even under very successful situations.
With regards to ISRO, Somnath said, “Earlier, ISRO used to develop everything from foundation but now we are widening up by connecting with corporate sectors and various startups which are creating space devices and other manufacturing tools. Also, on January 1, we had the launch of PSLV X PoSat. The satellite is doing very well. All its instruments are now slowly switched on and working. We will get to know about the results soon. On Saturday, the organisation would undertake a crucial maneuver and inject the Aditya-L1 into the final orbit L1.”
Following this, our next launch is a GSLV launch, INSAT- 3DS, climate and weather satellite to track our cyclones, to look at the weather, the rain, the drought and many other things. That satellite is going to be launched this month, possibly by the beginning of February. Will have to see that it will be ready, he added.
He further stated that with the advent of futuristic technologies, people may soon virtually travel to Mars and Venus and actually experience the heat with the sensors connected to the brain by themselves but not through machines or screens.
Dr Somanath was conferred Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) by the varsity during the convocation.
Prof. Katta Narasimha Reddy said, “A total of 88,226 degrees including 75,815 undergraduate, 11,088 postgraduate, 835 doctor of pharmacy, 142 doctor of philosophy were awarded to students. Thirty six gold medals were also presented to students for their academic excellence.”