India’s Missile Revolution

1. Cruise Missiles (Subsonic, Supersonic, Hypersonic )

2. Hypersonic Boost Glide Missile

3. Ballistic Missiles

4. Nuclear Warheads

5. Anti-Ballistic Missiles

Vikram Sarabhai-the father of Indian Space Programme

Vikram Sarabhai for Rockets, atomic power & Bharatnatyam

ISRO found water on the moon and have more remote sensing satellites in space than any other country. But without Vikram Sarabhai, the man who founded ISRO, none of it would have been possible. On his birthday, here's a brief look at what he achieved.

Vikram Sarabhai was born on the 12th of August, 1919. Father Ambalal and Mother SarlaDevi were rich and involved in the freedom struggle. Gandhiji and Nehru were regular visitors at home.

After a doctorate at Cambridge and research at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, Sarabhai worked with Homi Bhabha, the father of India's nuclear programme. He set up a rocket launch station in Thumba, Kerala and launched India's first satellite in 1963. This was the start of the Indian Space Research Organisation -ISRO. In 1975, Sarabhai set up the country's first satellite television broadcasting service and beamed educational programmes to villages.

But it was his love for the arts that made him fall in love with Mrinalini, a Bharatnatyam dancer. Together, they set up Darpan, a theater group and a home called Premalay.

Sarabhai later became head of the Department of Atomic Energy. Professional rivalry with another legendary scientist, Homi Sethna and his personal views about the dangers of the atom bomb, led to the department being split in two, one for military research and the other for power production.

Vikram Sarabhai also set up the National Physical Research Laboratory and the Indian Institute of Management in Ahemedabad. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai died on 30 December 1971 at Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

India to launch SARAL to monitor sea water levels

ISRO is going to launch a satellite SARAL to monitor sea water levels in collaboration with the French space agency, Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan said Wednesday.

The satellite, called Saral, will carry an altimetre (ALTIKA) for studying the sea surface heights and an ARGOS payload, which is a satellite-based data collection platform.

"The project is a joint project of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the French National Space Agency (CNES). The ALTIKA and ARGOS payloads are built and supplied by the French space agency. The satellite building and launching are the responsibilities of ISRO," Chavan told the Lok Sabha. The minister said the satellite is likely to be launched in 2011.

India to launch satellite navigation system

A satellite-based navigation system to assist air traffic from Southeast Asia to Africa, including over the high seas in the vast region, would be launched tomorrow, placing India into a select group of nations which possess such a sophisticated technology.

GAGAN or the GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation to be launched by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel would not only help the civil aviation sector but also help in marine navigation, search and rescue operations, rail and road transport, survey and mapping as well as precision farming.

So far, only the US, Europe and Japan have developed similar capabilities. GAGAN would fill the gap between the European EGNOS and the Japanese MSAS systems to provide seamless air navigation service across regional boundaries, an official spokesperson said.

China is the top outer Space Polluter

China has topped the list of the world's major polluters of the near-Earth space environment, followed by the United States and Russia, the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said on Friday.

All together, the three main space powers produce 93% of space debris, according to a statement published on the agency's website.

"According to estimates, 40% of space debris is produced by China. The U.S.'s share accounts for 27.5%, and Russia's [share] for 25.5%, with 7% falling on other countries involved in space exploration," the statement said.

The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office has named Russia and CIS countries as the main polluters of outer space. According to the organization, Russia and its former Soviet allies disposed of a total of 5,833 spacecraft or their parts, including 1,402 satellites and 4,431 parts of carrier rockets, by ejecting them into near-Earth space.

Some 15,550 "dead" spacecraft, rocket stages, upper-stage rockets and their parts are orbiting around Earth, according to the U.S. space agency.

NASA also named France, Japan and India as major polluters of the near-Earth space environment, with the figures standing at 472, 190 and 170, respectively.