“Who’s first, who’s faster and who’s higher” was the battle cry during the Cold War when there was fierce competition in every field between the Soviet Union and the USA. Space Age began when Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik – 1, on October 4, 1957. Soon came the space travel by Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961.

   The next spectacular event was the moon-landing on July 21, 1969 by Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin. The Cold War was indeed the main force behind space ventures. Space opened up unprecedented avenues for exploration and discovery. In time, many other countries followed suit including India, which became a space faring nation in 1980. It was soon realized that space held the promise of many practical benefits. Space came to be regarded as the ‘fourth environment’, the other three being land, sea and air – a natural resource for judicious....