• Indian manned space mission by 2015: ISRO
• Chak de CSIR', Sibal tells scientists
• India set to launch Israeli spy satellite
• Vitamin D could add years to your life: Study
• India launches communications satellite

• We are capable of sending a spacecraft to Mars: ISRO chief
• 'India emerging as technical powerhouse'
• 2 Indian sites on pollution Top 10
• India soon to be a big market for UAVs

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working on a plan to send an Indian astronaut to space for the first time by using indigenous technology by 2015, the ISRO Chairman and Secretary in the department of Space G Madhavan Nair said here today. Addressing a Press conference on the sidelines of the 58th International Astronautical Congress in Hyderabad on Thursday Nair said that the country's unmanned Moon Mission 'Chandrayaan-1' will take off in April 2008 but there were no immediate plans to send a manned mission to the Moon. ISRO chief said that the current system of India was not adequate to send a man on moon, as it requires a very powerful rocket system.

He further said that India with its GSLV rocket had the basic technical ability to send a spacecraft to Mars as the rocket can carry 500 kg of payload to a Martian Orbit and if the scientific objectives are good ISRO can undertake such a mission. India has already made the announcement of opportunity to the scientific community for a mission to the Mars and now ISRO is trying to enthuse the laboratories and universities in the country to suggest scientific objectives for the Mars mission. Replying to a question ISRO Chief said that even for the manned mission to the space, India would like to follow the policy of developing indigenous technology rather than piggy riding on the US or Russian modules. He said India got a good response to its 'Chandrayaan I' mission which is likely to be launched on April 9, 2008 and will cost Rs 380 crore to the exchequer has good response from the other space agencies. He said ISRO's relationship with NASA over the last two years has improved considerable. "Chandrayan I itself is a very good example. It is because of the thrust given by Mike Griffin (NASA chief) that we could take instruments as piggyback in our Chandrayaan mission that shows the interest in having instruments in a joint mission and sharing the data between the scientific community in US and India", he said. ISRO has also worked in the preparation of NASA's vision documents on the exploration to moon and other planets. On the issue of cooperation with other agencies, Nair said that he had bilateral meetings with the chiefs of seven space agencies including those of US, China, Japan, and Europe during the 58th Congress. About the future plans he said ISRO was planning to have two more PSLV launches before the end of this year. One of the launches will carry Cartosat and other will be a commercial launch. Though, he refused to elaborate whether it will take Israel's spy satellite. "When you make commercial deals with the customers we have to respect their views" he said. First GSLV rocket with the indigenous cryogenic stage was slated for first half of 2008. In all ISRO will launch two GSLV and three PSLV rockets next year, he added.

Courtesy: www.dailypioneer.com, September 28, 2007

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"Our GSLV can take a 500 kg spacecraft to the Martian orbit"

India has signalled its intention to send a spacecraft (orbiter) to Mars. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has already made an announcement of opportunity to the scientific community, asking them "to suggest what are the scientific objectives they would like to achieve in having a Mars mission," G. Madhavan Nair, ISRO Chairman, said here on Thursday. "Once concrete proposals are available, we will be able to undertake a Mars mission …Our GSLV [Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle] can take a 500-kg spacecraft to the Martian orbit," he said. Mr. Nair told a press conference on the sidelines of the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) progressing here: "We are trying to enthuse our own laboratories in India and the universities. They have to suggest what are the scientific objectives they would like to achieve in having a Mars mission. Then we have ADCOS - Advisory Committee for Science Missions for the ISRO. That committee will review such proposals. Once concrete proposals are available, we will be able to undertake a Mars mission. But basically, the technical capability to send a spacecraft to Mars exists with us … If there are good scientific objectives, we will undertake such a mission." Between 2009 and 2011, India would launch seven satellites for an independent, stand-alone constellation called the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (INRS). These satellites would help ships, aircraft and vehicles in navigation. The satellite design had been completed. The project cost was Rs.1,600 crore. The ISRO would launch 60 satellites in the next five years from Sriharikota, he said. Asked whether this was possible when the ISRO was now doing only three or four launches a year from Sriharikota, Mr. Nair, while conceding that this amounted to making "a big demand on the ISRO," was confident that 150 industries manufacturing sub-systems and components for its launch vehicles and satellites, would deliver. "We are gearing up to meet this challenge. We hope by outsourcing more and more, we will be able to meet this target of 60 missions in the next five years." These satellites would be used for communication, predicting weather, undertaking science missions,etc. The relationship between the NASA and the ISRO improved considerably in the last two years, he said. The thrust given by NASA Administrator Michael Griffin will lead to two American payloads being flown on Chandrayaan-1, to be launched in April 2008 by PSLV-XL to orbit the moon.

Courtesy: www.hindu.com, September 28, 2007

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The stunning victory of the Indian team at the Twenty20 World Cup cricket tournament could not have come at a better time for Indian science. Speaker after speaker at a function to celebrate the 65th foundation day of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) here on Wednesday drew heavily from the match to press home the message that scientists need to play a more important role in the socio-economic development of the country. Exhorting the scientific community to excel, Union Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said there was a need to adopt the slogan of 'Chak de CSIR' after the sportsperson's mantra of 'Chak de India,' with scientists working in the laboratories of the council striving to improve the lot of the poor through team effort. Noting that the world today was dominated by four major developments in the form of technology revolution, managerial revolution, capital and manpower flows across borders and globalisation, he said the scientific community in the country need to be nimble enough to respond to global developments swiftly.

A great lesson
Delivering the keynote address, agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan said the victory was a great lesson for the country as a team of young players were able to achieve the resounding success, despite the absence of the veterans. "It must be remembered that giants were not there." The scientific community, he said, needed to follow their example and work as a team. Among other things, there was a need to launch a scheme to create opportunities in rural areas for skilled non-farm employment so that the problem of rural poverty was tackled at the earliest. The scheme, he said, could be patterned on the lines of the Spark programme of China, which helped to shift over 100 million rural men and women from farm to non-farm employment within seven years and which subsequently grew into what is currently called the Township and Village Enterprises programme. China's ability to become a global outsourcing hub for manufactured products was largely due to the emergence of the town and village enterprises, he said. The CSIR could join hands with other institutions to launch its own version using technologies developed by the laboratories under it in relation to post-harvest processing and value addition, biomass utilisation and efficient natural resources management. The scheme, he said, might be launched to begin with in areas where there had been large number of suicides by farmers and suggested that the CSIR might also collaborate with China's TVE programme. The scientific community, he said, also needed to promote the scientific temper among the people.

Courtesy:www.hindu.com, September 27, 2007

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The development of technologies and their convergence have significant influence on society as they create new technology. They establish connectivity among various components of knowledge, healthcare, governance and economic development, Governor Rameshwar Thakur said here on Monday. Participating in a function to celebrate the 40th Engineers' Day organised by the Bangalore Chapter of Institution of Engineers on the theme "Convergence of technologies for rapid development, " Mr. Thakur said technological convergence was a phenomenon in which technologies developed for one application may be used in many different contexts. With convergence, equipments get smaller, more intelligent and versatile.

India was slowly but steadily emerging as the global technical powerhouse. With growing economy and rapidly developing infrastructure, the country should gear up to embrace the emerging technological challenges to ensure sustained rapid growth, Mr. Thakur added. Minister for Science and Technology M. Ramachandra Gowda speaking said that young engineers should come into the fold of the organised professional bodies such as the Institution of Engineers. This would give them a foothold in the profession. He said the Institution of Engineers also should strive to get at least one membership on the All India Council for Technical Education. Expert on convergence of technologies at the Indian Institute of Science L.M. Patnaik said that the new shape of convergent technologies appearing the horizon was a synergy of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive sciences. Five engineers were honoured on the occasion. They are: the former Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister V.K. Aatre, Founder Director of IIMB N.S. Ramaswamy, Professor from Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee K.G. Rangaraju, former Director of Vellore Institute of Technology B.V.A. Rao and Registrar of Visvesvaraya Technological University M.S. Shivakumar.

Coourtesy: www.hindu.com, September 25, 2007

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An Indian rocket may lift an Israeli spy satellite into orbit within days in the second deal to grab a share of the $2.5-billion global launch market, officials and reports said Thursday. The Jerusalem Post said on Thursday that the launch of the 300-kilogramme (660-pound) Tecsar, Israel's most advanced satellite, could take place by the end of the week. India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle is to take the device into space. The launch "will take place when Israel wants it", said KR Sridhara Murthi, head of Antrix Corp, the marketing arm of the Bangalore-based Indian Space Research Organisation. Murthi declined to give further details on the mission including a timeframe for the launch, beyond saying it will happen sometime this year. Lior Weintraub, spokesman for the Israeli embassy in New Delhi, declined to comment. The satellite has a camera that can take pictures of small targets under cloudy and foggy conditions, the Jerusalem Post said.

Courtesy: www.dailytimes.com.pk, September 21, 2007

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Two of India's big money-minting sites - Vapi in Gujarat and Sukinda in Orissa - are among the world's top 10 most polluted areas, according to a report prepared by a US environmental group. The Blacksmith Institute's report, released in New York on Saturday, said that pollution poses a serious health threat to over 26.7 lakh people living in the two areas. It has caused several deaths. Sunita Narain of the Centre for Science and Environment, whose finding on chemical industry hub Vapi has been quoted in the report, said, "It's a wakeup call. It is criminal to allow such pollution unabated." The report said the Gujarat and Orissa governments have not done much. In Vapi, the Central Pollution Control Board has categorised Damanganga river as critically polluted and Kolak river as highly polluted, adding that both are unfit to support biological life. Mercury content in water has been found to be 96 times higher than the World Health Organisation standards. In Sukinda, which has one of the world's largest open cast chromite mine, the drinking water has hexavalent chromium levels double the national and international standards. The Orissa State Pollution Control Board has conceded that the only source of water for the population of 26 lakh, the Brahmani river, is highly contaminated. Sukinda and Vapi are new in the list. Tamil Nadu's Ranipet is out of top 10 but is still there in the list of top 30 along with Maharashtra's Mahad Industrial Estate.

Courtesy: www.hindustantimes.com, September 16, 2007

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Vitamin D is definitely good for health, doctors have said for years, but a new study has revealed that taking a pill of the organic compound everyday could help you live longer. Scientists in Europe came to the conclusion after they recently carried out a study on 57,000 people, the results of which have been published in 'Archives of Internal Medicine' journal Tuesday. "The intake of ordinary doses of Vitamin D supplements seems to be associated with decreases in total mortality rates. Interventions effectively strengthening Vit D status should result in reduced total mortality," they reported. In their research, the scientists analysed the results of Vit D supplements taken by 57,000 people during 18 separate trials and found that those who took pills regularly were less likely to die over the six-year period. The vitamin is produced naturally in the body through exposure to sunlight and is also found in salmon, tuna and other oily fish, and routinely added to milk.

Courtesy: www.hindu.com, September 13, 2007

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India has ambitious plans to introduce unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for its pressing security, military and maritime reconnaissance needs. UAVs have been successfully deployed in the insurgency-stricken Kashmir region, and may soon be pressed into service to combat Maoist rebels in the forest areas of Chhatisgarh. UAVs are currently being tested in combat situations by the Indian armed forces, and early test results have proven that this technology will be very useful, more economical and successful in different types of operations. The government is actively supporting efforts to build a platform for indigenous UAV developments. The Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is leading many joint programmes for UAV development. India is expected to be an extensive user of UAVs over the next decade, and numerous opportunities exist for industry stakeholders to penetrate the Indian UAV market. Partnerships with established UAV companies are ways to kickstart the UAV market in India. Collaborations in areas such as network centric warfare (NCW) and Electronics Warfare (EW) are attractive options, owing to the country's tremendous domestic IT resources.

Courtesy: http://naxalwatch.blogspot.com, September 10, 2007

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India on Sunday sent into orbit a rocket carrying the replacement for a communications satellite destroyed last year, raising its hopes of competing for global satellite launch business. The 49-metre (1,481-feet) rocket carrying the Insat-4CR satellite blasted off from the Sriharikota space station in southern India at 6:21 pm (1251 GMT) after a two-hour delay due to a technical glitch. Weighing 2,130 kilogrammes (4,700 pounds), the satellite is equipped with 12 wideband channels -- known as transponders -- that allow digital transmission on each at the same time by several video and audio networks. Sunday's launch was viewed as crucial to India's aims to grab a slice of the 2.5-billion-dollar heavy satellite launch business as well as meet its own booming telecommunications demand.

"It was a very nice take off with the evening skies so luminous and majestic and the thundering sound of the rocket," said Indian Space Research Organisation chief G. Madhavan Nair after the launch. Anxiety levels were high ahead of the fifth launch of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) series rocket, a year after its predecessor had to be destroyed less than a minute after lift off when it veered from its path. "This mission from all point of view has been highly dramatic," said Nair, who was congratulated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday, the Press Trust of India news agency said. "We had really gone through the mill. On one side we had the anxiety coming from the previous failure." But Sunday's launch, which cost the agency the equivalent of 100 million dollars, proved that Indian rockets were "as reliable as any other launch vehicle in the world," Nair said. "We are getting enquiries from foreign customers," he added. Cheers and clapping marked the launch, which a spokesman for the Bangalore-based agency said was vital for India's increasing volumes of fax and Internet traffic, and television and video services. "The high-powered satellite will augment the country's communication capacity and help meet increasing demand," said the spokesman. Launched in the 1980s, Insat is the largest domestic communication satellite system in the Asia-Pacific region, providing services in telecommunications, television broadcasting and meteorology including disaster warning. India started its space programme in 1963, carrying out its first successful launch of a domestic satellite by an Indian-built rocket in 1980. The satellites have been used for years to map natural resources and predict the weather to help farmers and the rural poor, but India has recently moved towards commercial exploitation of space technology. The space agency in April launched an Italian satellite for a fee for the first time, signalling its entry into the commercial launch market. It also earns money from telecom and broadcast companies who use its transponders.

Courtesy: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h2y1TR6Wavi17OWtSPe2zyNcfrew, September 03, 2007

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