K Sivan

“We had gone ahead last time with confidence, but it had a hard landing. It was unfortunate,” Sivan tells us over the phone from Bengaluru, a day before the launch. He informs us that most first launch attempts are unsuccessful, but is confident this one will be successful. “The media seems so much more excited,” he says.  “For us, the chairman, and everyone else at ISRO, it’s just another day at work. Every launch and test has its challenges. Last time, we did everything we could, but in space there are many known unknowns [things we are aware of but don’t understand] and unknown knowns [things we understand but haven’t experienced]. What happens in flight, nobody can foretell.”

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Ask if emotions are high in the 24 hours leading up to the mission, and Sivan is as stoic as they come: “Of course, we are human. We are emotionally attached to each test and each launch. Everyone has their fingers crossed and everyone waits anxiously, but in the end what will happen, will happen. All we can do is understand our mistakes and work from there.”

Sivan says that every time a mission fails, scientists don’t take more than a few hours to bounce back. “Our main aim is to get back to regular programming—we start analysing the data, start figuring out what went right and wrong. And then, we are back to work. There is no time to waste.”