India's Cut-Price Space Program

Although [India's] space program is a civilian effort, it is a symbol of national excellence -- and that makes it an ideal target. But behind the several layers of security, the Indian Space Research Organisation, or ISRO, is abuzz with new projects and excitement.

In the coming years, ISRO will send its first probe, the Chandrayaan-1, to map and photograph the surface of the moon. The agency will also introduce two new heavy-lifting rockets and establish extensive telecommunications networks that will link even the most remote regions of the country.