India in Space expo

ISRO organizing a exhibition on space named ‘India in Space’ is going to be held at the FISAT, Angamaly, from September 16 to 18.

The main aim of the exhibition is to create an awareness among school and college students about India's achievements in space programmes and to show how they have helped in the country’s overall development.

The exhibition will showcase satellites ranging from Aryabhatta to the Insat series. Chandrayaan-1 and the technology used in it will be the major highlights of the exhibition. The models of India’s future programmes (VISION till 2020) like GSLV-Mk III, Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD), Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-II) and Chandrayaan-2 will also be displayed.

The video shows of Chandrayaan-1 and the history of the Indian space research will add color to the event. Electra, the student wing of the EEE branch, is organising the event in connection with the Techfest Nautilus, to be held in the college. The entry is free.

ISRO to confirm Chandrayaan-2 payload

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) director S.K. Shivakumar said the payload for Chandrayaan-2 will be confirmed at a meeting scheduled to be held in Bangalore on August 3, 2010. "The payloads are currently going through the process of short-listing," he said.

Speaking on 'Chandrayaan-Deep Space Network (DSN)' organized by the Institute of Engineers, Shivakumar said the probe would 'take forward' some of the accomplishments of Chandrayaan-1. He also described the step-by-step installation process of the DNS antenna constructed by ISRO to track signals of Chandrayaan 1.

ISRO constructed two DSN antennas - 32-metre primary antenna and 18-metre sandby antenna, at a cost of Rs. 100 crore at Byalalu on the outskirts of Bangalore. The Deep Space Network antenna is currently tracking the signals of Venus express satellite from Japan and waiting permission from the European Space Agency to track their Mars express satellite. The DSN satellite is epected to provide complete support for Chandrayaan 2. Chandrayaan 2 is scheduled for a 2012 launch and it would have an Indian-made orbiter and rover and a Russian Lander.

Chandrayaan-2 by 2013

Chandrayaan-2 by 2013, confirms ISRO: The Indian Space Research Organization has confirmed that India is going to send Chandrayaan -2 by 2013

According to K. Radhakrishnan, the chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), India is preparing to launch its second moon mission ‘Chandrayaan-2 by 2013′.

They are planning to have The Chandrayaan -2 in the year 2013 and by that time they should have their GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) flying with the Indigenous Cryogenic Engine Stage which is their target, said Radhakrishan.

They are analyzing some snags which have been identified in flight-testing of the Indigenous Cryogenic Engine, which will be sorted out in about a year. The Chandrayaan-2 is the second unmanned lunar exploration mission that ISRO is pursuing.

Boeing to work with ISRO on Chandrayaan

Seeking to expand cooperation with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on its moon mission, the United States is offering assistance through Boeing, which partners with the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) on its space exploration programme.

Having worked with NASA on the Chandryaan mission, the ISRO is in talks with Boeing, which has a commercial crew development contract with NASA, as a key teammate to initiate the design and development architecture of a commercial transport to and from the International Space Station.

“We are having an initial conversation with ISRO and attempting to set up a more formal arrangement as to how we can work together in space,'' Sam Gunderson, Senior Manager of Boeing Business Development, told a group of correspondents from India here.

The company's representatives, Roger Krone and Jeff Trauberman, met ISRO chairman K. Radhakrishnan and Antrix Corporation managing director K.R. Sridhara Murthi in February, Mr. Gunderson said. Mr. Murthi was identified as the point of contact for follow-up work.

Space facing parking problem with 12,000 satellites

Not everyone is lucky enough to experience the excitement inside the control room at Sriharikota when Chandrayaan-I was launched, but the students of Dikshant International School got the chance to relive history. They were lucky enough not just to see the video, but meet the Group Director of the Indian Space Research Organization.

Suresh Naik, former Group Director of ISRO, interacted with the students and staff of the Dikshant International School at the school’s media centre on Sunday. Naik showed a presentation carrying the facts and pictures related to Chandrayaan-I. He also showed students the different stages of making of a rocket and a satellite. He showed the video of the launching of Chandrayaan-I and the visuals of the research centre.

He said a satellite had a life of 15 to 20 years, after which it gets lost in the space. “There are around 12,000 satellites in the space, of which only 20 per cent are working. The others, along with some other unwanted material, comprise space debris, which is causing a parking problem in space. This debris causes a lot of problem in the launch of new satellites,” he said.

Replying to a question, he said the Indian Space and Science Technology Centre was situated at Thiruvantpuram and that he had worked under the ISRO scientists with former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, being the Chancellor of the university.

Answering another question, he said scientists were seeing Mars as an alternative habitat for humans. He said that by 2035, the first human should be able to reach Mars. He said that according to plans, two years prior to this robot would land on Mars. He also educated students about Chandrayaan-II and Chandrayaan-III, the upcoming projects of the ISRO. Chandrayaan-II, which would carry two rovers for the further exploration of the moon, is scheduled for 2013 while Chandrayaan-III is scheduled for 2015.

India to send man to moon by 2020

India is planning to send man to the moon by 2020, a space agency official said 4th January Sunday at 96th Indian Science Congress. He said that the country's first manned flight into space was also on cards by 2015.

K. Radhakrishnan, member of the Space Commission and director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said plans were occurring to send a two-member crew into space and orbit around 200 km away from the earth by 2015. This would be the first time that an Indian would travel to space on an Indian spacecraft, which ISRO hopes to build with its own technology.

Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian to travel in space onboard a Soviet spacecraft in 1984. Two people of Indian origin, Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams, have been to space onboard US spacecrafts.

ISRO is in the process of developing sophisticated versions of the PSLV launch vehicles. Scientists said the proposal to send a manned spacecraft was sent after India successfully launched the lunar mission Chandrayaan-I last year.

ISRO also plans a Mars mission before 2020:
Everyone is happy with the successful launch of Chandrayaan and now there are preparations for Mission Chandrayaan-II after the government approval. Chandrayaan-I was mostly a remote-sensing spacecraft scanning the lunar surface for minerals and water, Chandrayaan-II will be a land-rover with capabilities to move on the moon's surface.