NYT hails India's space programme, says will 'transform planet's connection to final frontier'
"One of India's advantages is geopolitical," the paper said as it added that Russia and China had historically offered lower-cost options for launches. FILE - The launch of Chandrayaan-2, the second lunar exploration mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation. NEW YORK: Lauding India’s ambitious space programme, The New York Times has said the country, currently witnessing an “explosive” growth in space-tech start-ups, is set to “transform the planet’s connection to the final frontier” and can emerge as a “counterweight” to China. “When it launched its first rocket in 1963, India was a poor country pursuing the world’s most cutting-edge technology. That projectile, its nose cone wheeled to the launchpad by a bicycle, put a small payload 124 miles above the Earth. India was barely pretending to keep up with the US and the Soviet Union. In today’s space race, India has found much surer footing,” the leading US newspaper said. The article titled ‘The Surp...