Success on the first try? It’s a warning, not a win, says ISRO chief

Rather than chasing early wins, ISRO Chief Dr S Somanath advises innovators to anticipate and learn from failure. Inculcating a critical mindset, he argues, ensures robust, long-lasting success for startups.

"I tell young people all the time: You have to be extremely sceptical...You have to look for failure, failure, failure even when something works successfully," advised the chairman of India's space agency during a fireside chat with YourStory CEO Shradha Sharma at TechSparks Bengaluru 2024.

According to him, a successful outcome should always be a cause for concern because one may overlook failure points. "If something works successfully the very first time, we become more worried," he quipped.

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Dr Somanath further elaborated on ISRO’s approach to testing and validation, explaining that the agency ingrains scepticism at every stage of development.

"We analyse things that can go wrong, and how to fix it—in the design, production, assembly, and testing is a characteristic that we have built-in," he said.

Dr Somanath highlighted that ISRO's cautious and analytical approach involves rigorous testing in large numbers to ensure core quality norms.

"Even before the launch, the first question asked is, 'what are the ways this launch can fail?' Not 'how it's going to be successful this time'," he said, talking about the processes at ISRO.

He also warned against being overconfident in their approach, saying, "The moment you become very happy about things going well, then failure is imminent."