Media and Responsibility
It was reported in the last couple of weeks that India successfully launched a new satellite into orbit. The accompanying news report mentioned that the satellite, named the GSAT-12, would aid television broadcasting, tele-education and tele-medicine programs and village resources. It went on to list mundane details like the satellite's apogee and perigee and it's exact weight. This is where the report ended. A routine report of a routine satellite launch. I'd seen dozens of nearly identical reports before and didn't give it much thought. And yet, somewhere in the back of my mind, the monotony of the report and it's unchanging content bothered me. Yes, we are in the 21st century and satellite launches are routine. Yes, we are approaching the dawn of private space exploration and tourism. However, space is still the sole preserve of a handful of nations and a satellite launch is still an extremely expensive endeavor. Each individual launch is planned for a specifi...