NEW DEHLI (Sputnik) — Speaking to Sputnik News Agency, Dr. K. Sivan, Director of ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, said the Indian agency is not involved in any kind of "race" with other organizations:
"We are not involved in any race with anybody. We have our own problems to tackle. ISRO has its own domestic requirements which we need to satisfy."
His remarks have come in the wake of a recent experiment by the California-headquartered US firm which came up with a technology for soft-landing a rocket's first stage after its launch. This would enable the reassembling and refueling of the second stage of the rocket into space within a few hours of the first launch.
The American company SpaceX touted that its concept, if successful, could drastically cut the space-aircraft costs by up to 100 times. Experts have agreed this could be a game-changer in the market for low-cost satellite launches.
ISRO has recently been at the center of attention for majorly cutting the costs of satellite launches though its polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) rockets. But this is likely to change, given SpaceX's latest entry.
