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India successfully launches PSLV
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One point i need to ask?
Has dawn covered the Indian Satellite launches AT ALL??
I mean i could not find the coverage, and yet they always post about nay strikes or movements in India and whatnot??
Has dawn covered the Indian Satellite launches AT ALL??
I mean i could not find the coverage, and yet they always post about nay strikes or movements in India and whatnot??
Dawn is a pakistani newspaper right?
Do you hear about "Gwadar will give pakistan a huge economic boost" news daily in our news channel?
so why should they?
on the other side, there are over 5-6 launches this year, read the TS subramanin report who has contacts with ISRO on the future launches and the significance.
Do you hear about "Gwadar will give pakistan a huge economic boost" news daily in our news channel?
so why should they?
on the other side, there are over 5-6 launches this year, read the TS subramanin report who has contacts with ISRO on the future launches and the significance.
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I found a good article on the launches.
Mission success
"LIKE individuals, organisations too have their emotions," said D. Narayana Moorthi, Visiting Scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and former Director, Launch Vehicle Programme Office, ISRO headquarters, Bangalore.
At the end of the 19-minute flight on January 10, when the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C7) mission turned out to be a huge success, having put four satellites, one after another, in orbit, there was an explosion of joy at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. Although this was the PSLV's ninth successful flight in a row and the vehicle had proved itself to be a workhorse, ISRO personnel had reason to be overjoyed. On July 10, 2006, ISRO's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) had to be destroyed in mid-flight 55 seconds after its lift-off from Sriharikota because it had veered too much off its path. One of its four strap-on motors, powered by liquid propellants, did not build up enough thrust. The three previous GSLV flights were successful.
A day earlier, India had received another blow when the maiden launch of Agni-III ballistic missile of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) failed after its heat-shield malfunctioned.
The GSLV failure shook ISRO deeply, and its scientists dredged up the strap-on motors from the depths of the Bay of Bengal to zero in on the reason for the failure. A 15-member Failure Analysis Committee, headed by K. Narayana, former Director, SDSC, reviewed the GSLV's performance from the lift-off to the moment when the debris fell into the sea. The primary cause of the failure was the sudden loss of thrust in the fourth strap-on stage at 0.2 seconds after the lift-off. The propellant regulator in the failed engine had a much higher discharge co-efficient in its closed condition because of a manufacturing defect.
What worried ISRO rocket engineers was that although the PSLV had proved its mettle with eight successful flights in a row until then, the liquid stage that failed in the GSLV flight was common to both the launch vehicles. In other words, the second liquid stage of the PSLV becomes one of the four strap-on liquid stages of the GSLV. So ISRO did not want to take chances with the PSLV-C7 flight.
Besides, ISRO was attempting a complicated mission with the PSLV-C7. It was a multi-mission: a single vehicle was to put four satellites in orbit. Although the PSLV, in its missions in 1999 and 2001, had deployed three satellites in orbit, this was a challenging mission because two of the four satellites were heavy. The PSLV had a new device called Dual Launch Adopter to put four satellites in orbit.
Recoverable satellite
ISRO was staking its prestige on the PSLV-C7 mission on another count. It was orbiting for the first time a recoverable satellite called Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE) - which was a technological challenge on many fronts. The SRE would provide ISRO personnel with "valuable experience" in mastering re-entry and recovery technologies, and in building a reusable launch vehicle. The SRE would be a forerunner to India's plans to send an astronaut into space in about 10 years from now.
After staying in orbit for 11 to 30 days about 635 km above the earth, the SRE would re-enter the earth's atmosphere without burning up. (When a spacecraft re-enters the earth's atmosphere, it burns up owing to the intense heat generated by friction). Then, about five km above the Bay of Bengal, three parachutes in the SRE would open up one after another with precision. The deployment of the second and third parachutes would slow down the descent of the SRE and it would have a soft touchdown in the waters of the Bay of Bengal about 140 km east of Sriharikota. A flotation system would keep it alive. Beacons on its board would signal its splashdown. Dye markers would make it visible and a Coast Guard vessel would recover it.
The SRE, which looks like a sphere-cone, is made of mild steel. It is 1.6 metres tall and its base diameter is two metres. Placed inside this capsule are the parachutes, pyro devices, avionics packages, telemetry and tracking systems, and two payloads for conducting experiments in micro-gravity.
The 555-kg SRE has been built jointly by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, the ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, and the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, among others.
The other three satellites that were to be put in orbit by the PSLV-C7 were ISRO's Cartosat-2; LAPAN-TUBSAT, jointly built by Indonesia and the Technical University of Berlin; and Pehuensat-1 of Argentina. The 680-kg Cartosat-2 is for mapping purposes. LAPAN-TUBSAT, which weighs 56 kg, is a remote-sensing satellite. The six-kg Pehuensat-1 is to learn the art of building satellites. Thus the success of the PSLV-C7 mission was keenly watched from abroad.
Although ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair denied that the organisation was under pressure following the failure of the previous GSLV flight, the atmosphere was tense in the Mission Control Centre in the final hours of the 52-hour countdown to the lift-off at 9-23 a.m. The entire countdown proceeded without any hold, and the four-stage, 44-metre tall PSLV, which weighs 295 tonnes, lifted off majestically from its beachside launch-pad on the dot. All the stages ignited on time, jettisoned at precise moments, and the fourth stage injected the four satellites into orbit.
Madhavan Nair paid tributes to the ISRO community for bringing about this triumph "in about six months from the last debacle". The textbook mission showed "the precision with which the rocket systems, control systems, guidance systems, navigations systems and the on-board computer functioned... . The satellites were separated as per sequence."
The ISRO Chairman explained how it happened: "We had gone through a series of processes, checkouts, calibrations, quality checks and previews. At the end of it, we are happy that the processes that we adopt for such launch missions have worked out and all the sub-systems also have worked as per plan."
He praised the team led by John P. Zachariah, Deputy Director, VSSC, "which slogged here for two months to realise the vehicle". Dr. B.N. Suresh, Director, VSSC, which built the vehicle, said, "There will be four or five launches this year. This [success] has given a firm foundation to the launches planned this year."
According to D. Narayana Moorthi, there were self-driven reviews in ISRO, and success was achieved because of pressure not from outside but from inside. "The entire ISRO showed strength of character in identifying the problem in the GSLV in a fast mode, analysing it and completely reviewed the process of making the vehicle, including quality procedures and protocol." Narayana Moorthy, Koshy and Zachariah gave an account of how the success was achieved: once the problem in the GSLV was identified, VSSC's quality assessment teams put in all efforts to check every part in the PSLV-C7. They went into all possible defects. Extra care was taken to re-examine all the items, systems and sub-systems. The entire assembly and integration of the vehicle was meticulously done.
Although the PSLV was a proven vehicle, the internal length of the C-7 was 2.6 m more because of the use of the DLA for launching four satellites. This required a detailed analysis in vehicle dynamics and characterisation. To inject four bodies into orbit without any collision was in itself a big mission design achievement.
The attention now is on the SRE. The tentative date for its recovery is January 22(thats tommorrow, fingers crossed!). "Although the problem occurred in a stage common to both the GSLV and the PSLV, it was a challenge to build confidence in the teams. Thanks to the ISRO spirit of never-say-die, this success has been achieved. Till the SRE is recovered, the entire ISRO will be anxious," said Narayana Moorthy.
http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20070126004213200.htm
Mission success
"LIKE individuals, organisations too have their emotions," said D. Narayana Moorthi, Visiting Scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and former Director, Launch Vehicle Programme Office, ISRO headquarters, Bangalore.
At the end of the 19-minute flight on January 10, when the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C7) mission turned out to be a huge success, having put four satellites, one after another, in orbit, there was an explosion of joy at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. Although this was the PSLV's ninth successful flight in a row and the vehicle had proved itself to be a workhorse, ISRO personnel had reason to be overjoyed. On July 10, 2006, ISRO's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) had to be destroyed in mid-flight 55 seconds after its lift-off from Sriharikota because it had veered too much off its path. One of its four strap-on motors, powered by liquid propellants, did not build up enough thrust. The three previous GSLV flights were successful.
A day earlier, India had received another blow when the maiden launch of Agni-III ballistic missile of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) failed after its heat-shield malfunctioned.
The GSLV failure shook ISRO deeply, and its scientists dredged up the strap-on motors from the depths of the Bay of Bengal to zero in on the reason for the failure. A 15-member Failure Analysis Committee, headed by K. Narayana, former Director, SDSC, reviewed the GSLV's performance from the lift-off to the moment when the debris fell into the sea. The primary cause of the failure was the sudden loss of thrust in the fourth strap-on stage at 0.2 seconds after the lift-off. The propellant regulator in the failed engine had a much higher discharge co-efficient in its closed condition because of a manufacturing defect.
What worried ISRO rocket engineers was that although the PSLV had proved its mettle with eight successful flights in a row until then, the liquid stage that failed in the GSLV flight was common to both the launch vehicles. In other words, the second liquid stage of the PSLV becomes one of the four strap-on liquid stages of the GSLV. So ISRO did not want to take chances with the PSLV-C7 flight.
Besides, ISRO was attempting a complicated mission with the PSLV-C7. It was a multi-mission: a single vehicle was to put four satellites in orbit. Although the PSLV, in its missions in 1999 and 2001, had deployed three satellites in orbit, this was a challenging mission because two of the four satellites were heavy. The PSLV had a new device called Dual Launch Adopter to put four satellites in orbit.
Recoverable satellite
ISRO was staking its prestige on the PSLV-C7 mission on another count. It was orbiting for the first time a recoverable satellite called Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE) - which was a technological challenge on many fronts. The SRE would provide ISRO personnel with "valuable experience" in mastering re-entry and recovery technologies, and in building a reusable launch vehicle. The SRE would be a forerunner to India's plans to send an astronaut into space in about 10 years from now.
After staying in orbit for 11 to 30 days about 635 km above the earth, the SRE would re-enter the earth's atmosphere without burning up. (When a spacecraft re-enters the earth's atmosphere, it burns up owing to the intense heat generated by friction). Then, about five km above the Bay of Bengal, three parachutes in the SRE would open up one after another with precision. The deployment of the second and third parachutes would slow down the descent of the SRE and it would have a soft touchdown in the waters of the Bay of Bengal about 140 km east of Sriharikota. A flotation system would keep it alive. Beacons on its board would signal its splashdown. Dye markers would make it visible and a Coast Guard vessel would recover it.
The SRE, which looks like a sphere-cone, is made of mild steel. It is 1.6 metres tall and its base diameter is two metres. Placed inside this capsule are the parachutes, pyro devices, avionics packages, telemetry and tracking systems, and two payloads for conducting experiments in micro-gravity.
The 555-kg SRE has been built jointly by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, the ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, and the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, among others.
The other three satellites that were to be put in orbit by the PSLV-C7 were ISRO's Cartosat-2; LAPAN-TUBSAT, jointly built by Indonesia and the Technical University of Berlin; and Pehuensat-1 of Argentina. The 680-kg Cartosat-2 is for mapping purposes. LAPAN-TUBSAT, which weighs 56 kg, is a remote-sensing satellite. The six-kg Pehuensat-1 is to learn the art of building satellites. Thus the success of the PSLV-C7 mission was keenly watched from abroad.
Although ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair denied that the organisation was under pressure following the failure of the previous GSLV flight, the atmosphere was tense in the Mission Control Centre in the final hours of the 52-hour countdown to the lift-off at 9-23 a.m. The entire countdown proceeded without any hold, and the four-stage, 44-metre tall PSLV, which weighs 295 tonnes, lifted off majestically from its beachside launch-pad on the dot. All the stages ignited on time, jettisoned at precise moments, and the fourth stage injected the four satellites into orbit.
Madhavan Nair paid tributes to the ISRO community for bringing about this triumph "in about six months from the last debacle". The textbook mission showed "the precision with which the rocket systems, control systems, guidance systems, navigations systems and the on-board computer functioned... . The satellites were separated as per sequence."
The ISRO Chairman explained how it happened: "We had gone through a series of processes, checkouts, calibrations, quality checks and previews. At the end of it, we are happy that the processes that we adopt for such launch missions have worked out and all the sub-systems also have worked as per plan."
He praised the team led by John P. Zachariah, Deputy Director, VSSC, "which slogged here for two months to realise the vehicle". Dr. B.N. Suresh, Director, VSSC, which built the vehicle, said, "There will be four or five launches this year. This [success] has given a firm foundation to the launches planned this year."
According to D. Narayana Moorthi, there were self-driven reviews in ISRO, and success was achieved because of pressure not from outside but from inside. "The entire ISRO showed strength of character in identifying the problem in the GSLV in a fast mode, analysing it and completely reviewed the process of making the vehicle, including quality procedures and protocol." Narayana Moorthy, Koshy and Zachariah gave an account of how the success was achieved: once the problem in the GSLV was identified, VSSC's quality assessment teams put in all efforts to check every part in the PSLV-C7. They went into all possible defects. Extra care was taken to re-examine all the items, systems and sub-systems. The entire assembly and integration of the vehicle was meticulously done.
Although the PSLV was a proven vehicle, the internal length of the C-7 was 2.6 m more because of the use of the DLA for launching four satellites. This required a detailed analysis in vehicle dynamics and characterisation. To inject four bodies into orbit without any collision was in itself a big mission design achievement.
The attention now is on the SRE. The tentative date for its recovery is January 22(thats tommorrow, fingers crossed!). "Although the problem occurred in a stage common to both the GSLV and the PSLV, it was a challenge to build confidence in the teams. Thanks to the ISRO spirit of never-say-die, this success has been achieved. Till the SRE is recovered, the entire ISRO will be anxious," said Narayana Moorthy.
http://www.flonnet.com/stories/20070126004213200.htm
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Insat-4B launch set for early March
MUMBAI: The Indian Space Research Organisation's (Isro) Insat-4B satellite is scheduled to be launched from Kourou in French Guiana in the first week of March.
This was confirmed by Isro chief G Madhavan Nair on Monday. Speaking in Thiruvananthapuram in the southern state of Kerala, Nair was quoted in media reports as saying: "Final tests are being conducted on the satellite and it will be moved to French Guiana by the end of this month."
The Insat-4B, the second satellite in the Insat-4 series, will be carrying 12 KU band and as many C band transponders for communication and broadcasting services.
One likely customer for the KU band transponders is Kalanithi Maran's Sun Group, which had booked space last year on the failed Insat-4C for its DTH venture Sun Direct.
Sun TV had booked six transponders for DTH and one for DSNG (digital satellite news gathering) on the Insat-4C.
Speaking to Indiantelevision last August after the failure of the Insat-4C launch mission, Isro contract management and legal services director SB Iyer had said: "We have the flexibility to accommodate Sun. If there is an early requirement, we can give them space on an Indian or foreign satellite."
Current indications are that Insat-4B, which was originally meant for Doordarshan's DTH service DD Direct Plus will likely be used to accommodate Sun as well.
When asked about it today, Iyer was noncommital though, stating, "We are still deciding we will be accommodating one or two DTH providers."
MUMBAI: The Indian Space Research Organisation's (Isro) Insat-4B satellite is scheduled to be launched from Kourou in French Guiana in the first week of March.
This was confirmed by Isro chief G Madhavan Nair on Monday. Speaking in Thiruvananthapuram in the southern state of Kerala, Nair was quoted in media reports as saying: "Final tests are being conducted on the satellite and it will be moved to French Guiana by the end of this month."
The Insat-4B, the second satellite in the Insat-4 series, will be carrying 12 KU band and as many C band transponders for communication and broadcasting services.
One likely customer for the KU band transponders is Kalanithi Maran's Sun Group, which had booked space last year on the failed Insat-4C for its DTH venture Sun Direct.
Sun TV had booked six transponders for DTH and one for DSNG (digital satellite news gathering) on the Insat-4C.
Speaking to Indiantelevision last August after the failure of the Insat-4C launch mission, Isro contract management and legal services director SB Iyer had said: "We have the flexibility to accommodate Sun. If there is an early requirement, we can give them space on an Indian or foreign satellite."
Current indications are that Insat-4B, which was originally meant for Doordarshan's DTH service DD Direct Plus will likely be used to accommodate Sun as well.
When asked about it today, Iyer was noncommital though, stating, "We are still deciding we will be accommodating one or two DTH providers."
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Oceansat II to be launched this year
KOCHI: Oceansat II, the second in the series of specific satellites being developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to study the physical and biological aspects of ocean, will be launched by the end of 2007, said G.Madhavan Nair, chairman of ISRO and secretary, DOS, Government of India.
He was delivering a speech on �Indian Space Programme and Its Initiatives Towards Fisheries Development� at the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) here on Saturday in connection with the golden jubilee celebration of CIFT. There was remarkable change in fishery wealth exploitation after Oceansat I was launched in 1999. �But Kerala could not utilise the advantages of Oceansat I due to climate here,� he said.
Oceansat II will carry Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) and Ku band pencil beam scatterometer.
While the improved version of OCM in Oceansat II will provide data services to major applications such as identification of potential fishing zone (PFZ), sea state forecasting, coastal zone studies, the scatterometer data will be useful to decipher the wind velocity vector over the oceans which could be very useful to improve the accuracy and also extend the validity of PFZ forecasting.
Madhavan Nair said the Ocean State Forecast (OSF) was an excellent example of a multi-institutional endeavor that translated scientific knowledge into useful safety operations at sea.
�ISRO is actively participating in the major national endeavor of setting up of an early warning system for the mitigation of oceanographic disasters like tsunami and also for creating an ocean information bank, along with the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Service (INCOIS). ISRO also proposes to produce around 100 search and rescue beacons to be used in fishing vessels,� he said.
He expressed the hope that CIFT would join hands with the ISRO to develop operational methodologies to help the fisheries development in a more scientific way.
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEX20070120122302&Title=Kochi&Topic=0&
KOCHI: Oceansat II, the second in the series of specific satellites being developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to study the physical and biological aspects of ocean, will be launched by the end of 2007, said G.Madhavan Nair, chairman of ISRO and secretary, DOS, Government of India.
He was delivering a speech on �Indian Space Programme and Its Initiatives Towards Fisheries Development� at the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) here on Saturday in connection with the golden jubilee celebration of CIFT. There was remarkable change in fishery wealth exploitation after Oceansat I was launched in 1999. �But Kerala could not utilise the advantages of Oceansat I due to climate here,� he said.
Oceansat II will carry Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) and Ku band pencil beam scatterometer.
While the improved version of OCM in Oceansat II will provide data services to major applications such as identification of potential fishing zone (PFZ), sea state forecasting, coastal zone studies, the scatterometer data will be useful to decipher the wind velocity vector over the oceans which could be very useful to improve the accuracy and also extend the validity of PFZ forecasting.
Madhavan Nair said the Ocean State Forecast (OSF) was an excellent example of a multi-institutional endeavor that translated scientific knowledge into useful safety operations at sea.
�ISRO is actively participating in the major national endeavor of setting up of an early warning system for the mitigation of oceanographic disasters like tsunami and also for creating an ocean information bank, along with the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Service (INCOIS). ISRO also proposes to produce around 100 search and rescue beacons to be used in fishing vessels,� he said.
He expressed the hope that CIFT would join hands with the ISRO to develop operational methodologies to help the fisheries development in a more scientific way.
http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEX20070120122302&Title=Kochi&Topic=0&
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Eye in sky put to new use: deciding crop insurance for farmers
CHANDIGARH, JANUARY 14: Khushpal Singh, a farmer in Batran village of Ambala district, could see that his wheat crop did not look good. The stalks were thinner and some had actually dried up. But even before he could sell his below-average wheat crop in the mandi, the Agriculture Insurance Company had made out a cheque for Rs 8,000 in his name.
The reason was that a satellite was able to capture Singhââ¬â¢s failing crop. He was one of the 84 farmers who accepted the new wheat crop insurance scheme introduced in Haryana and Punjab that calculates damages with the help of satellite pictures.
The Central government had established the Agriculture Insurance Company of India for focused development of a crop insurance programme, under the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS).
The insurance scheme is a pilot project for weather-based wheat insurance in the two states. In addition to the temperature and rainfall index, it has an innovative element of being able to calculate the crop vigour, or the health of the crop, while it is in the field, thanks to remote sensing.
The insurance company buys satellite pictures of areas from the National Remote Sensing Agency, Hyderabad, and a consultant uses a specially designed index called Normalised Difference Vegetative Index (NDVI) to assess crop vigour.
The index could range from one to 254, and if it is less than 180, compensation is paid out.
The index has been designed with the help of satellite pictures of the same area of crop, studied over the last 10 years. Farmers are free to choose from three elements ââ¬â temperature, rainfall, or biomass ââ¬â or choose all three for assessment of crop vigour using the index. And if the index falls below 180 by any assessment, compensation is paid out, irrespective of the yield or the price the farmer may get in the mandi.
ââ¬ÅThis is based on the logic that if the crop looks bad, it will give a low yield,ââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â¢ said B K Sharma, deputy general manager at AIS.
Some fine-tuning is being done on the temperature and rainfall parameters, the chief hurdle being that the met department does not have historical weather data for the districts.
The idea is now being applied to eight districts, four each in Punjab and Haryana and many progressive farmers have gone for this innovative package.
Mohinder of Kalanaur, who paid a premium of Rs 204 for his crop, received Rs 750 as compensation. Vijay and Prem Kapoor, brothers, received Rs 4,000 each in compensation.
The rates of premium vary between Rs 500 and Rs 700 per acre in different parts of the state. Though the scheme received a poor response last year, the company has already touched the 1,000-mark this year.
ââ¬ÅWe hope that more farmers will opt for it, especially after the state government has agreed to provide a subsidy of 10 per cent and banks and other financial institutions too have come forward to provide financial help to the farmers,ââ¬Â said B Ganeshan, regional manager of the company.
Realising the importance of insurance, the Haryana government has decided to provide crop insurance in Ambala, Karnal, Rohtak, Hisar and Bhiwani. The government has also decided to provide 10 per cent subsidy on the premium to small and marginal farmers.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/20947.html
CHANDIGARH, JANUARY 14: Khushpal Singh, a farmer in Batran village of Ambala district, could see that his wheat crop did not look good. The stalks were thinner and some had actually dried up. But even before he could sell his below-average wheat crop in the mandi, the Agriculture Insurance Company had made out a cheque for Rs 8,000 in his name.
The reason was that a satellite was able to capture Singhââ¬â¢s failing crop. He was one of the 84 farmers who accepted the new wheat crop insurance scheme introduced in Haryana and Punjab that calculates damages with the help of satellite pictures.
The Central government had established the Agriculture Insurance Company of India for focused development of a crop insurance programme, under the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS).
The insurance scheme is a pilot project for weather-based wheat insurance in the two states. In addition to the temperature and rainfall index, it has an innovative element of being able to calculate the crop vigour, or the health of the crop, while it is in the field, thanks to remote sensing.
The insurance company buys satellite pictures of areas from the National Remote Sensing Agency, Hyderabad, and a consultant uses a specially designed index called Normalised Difference Vegetative Index (NDVI) to assess crop vigour.
The index could range from one to 254, and if it is less than 180, compensation is paid out.
The index has been designed with the help of satellite pictures of the same area of crop, studied over the last 10 years. Farmers are free to choose from three elements ââ¬â temperature, rainfall, or biomass ââ¬â or choose all three for assessment of crop vigour using the index. And if the index falls below 180 by any assessment, compensation is paid out, irrespective of the yield or the price the farmer may get in the mandi.
ââ¬ÅThis is based on the logic that if the crop looks bad, it will give a low yield,ââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬â¢ said B K Sharma, deputy general manager at AIS.
Some fine-tuning is being done on the temperature and rainfall parameters, the chief hurdle being that the met department does not have historical weather data for the districts.
The idea is now being applied to eight districts, four each in Punjab and Haryana and many progressive farmers have gone for this innovative package.
Mohinder of Kalanaur, who paid a premium of Rs 204 for his crop, received Rs 750 as compensation. Vijay and Prem Kapoor, brothers, received Rs 4,000 each in compensation.
The rates of premium vary between Rs 500 and Rs 700 per acre in different parts of the state. Though the scheme received a poor response last year, the company has already touched the 1,000-mark this year.
ââ¬ÅWe hope that more farmers will opt for it, especially after the state government has agreed to provide a subsidy of 10 per cent and banks and other financial institutions too have come forward to provide financial help to the farmers,ââ¬Â said B Ganeshan, regional manager of the company.
Realising the importance of insurance, the Haryana government has decided to provide crop insurance in Ambala, Karnal, Rohtak, Hisar and Bhiwani. The government has also decided to provide 10 per cent subsidy on the premium to small and marginal farmers.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/20947.html
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Space univ in Kerala
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to set up a space training centre or a university in Kerala to meet the shortage of space scientists.
Speaking to reporters here on Monday, ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair said the organisation indeed was planning such an institute.
According to media reports, the proposed institute is expected to come up on the outskirts of the state capital on a 100-acre plot. It would be modelled on the lines of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai.
One reason why ISRO is planning such an institution is that its Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre here faces a crisis due to large-scale retirement of staff members.
It was in the 1970s that large-scale recruitment was done. With most of the staff having either retired or on the verge of retirement, there is a crunch of experienced personnel.
Veteran space scientist S. Nambinarayanan, who retired seven years back after 35 years of service at the centre here, told IANS that setting up a space university should have been thought of long ago.
"I am happy to hear this (news of a proposed university). Better late than never. In the West, most universities have aerospace departments and here it is none," said Nambinarayanan.
Another reason for the crunch in qualified personnel is that the newly recruited engineers are picked up after a year or two by private companies.
"The salaries offered in the private sector for engineers who have some experience are very high. This is going to be a problem for ISRO and it is better that it sorts it out," he added.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/.../Space_univ_in_Kerala/articleshow/1210201.cms
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to set up a space training centre or a university in Kerala to meet the shortage of space scientists.
Speaking to reporters here on Monday, ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair said the organisation indeed was planning such an institute.
According to media reports, the proposed institute is expected to come up on the outskirts of the state capital on a 100-acre plot. It would be modelled on the lines of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai.
One reason why ISRO is planning such an institution is that its Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre here faces a crisis due to large-scale retirement of staff members.
It was in the 1970s that large-scale recruitment was done. With most of the staff having either retired or on the verge of retirement, there is a crunch of experienced personnel.
Veteran space scientist S. Nambinarayanan, who retired seven years back after 35 years of service at the centre here, told IANS that setting up a space university should have been thought of long ago.
"I am happy to hear this (news of a proposed university). Better late than never. In the West, most universities have aerospace departments and here it is none," said Nambinarayanan.
Another reason for the crunch in qualified personnel is that the newly recruited engineers are picked up after a year or two by private companies.
"The salaries offered in the private sector for engineers who have some experience are very high. This is going to be a problem for ISRO and it is better that it sorts it out," he added.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/.../Space_univ_in_Kerala/articleshow/1210201.cms
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Indian space scientists have successfully brought back to earth an orbiting satellite in the first of its kind mission aimed at demonstrating spacecraft recovery technology capability.
The 550-kg spacecraft, Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1), spashed down in the Bay of Bengal, about 140 km east of Sriharkikota coast at around 9.45 am on Monday as planned, ISRO officials said.
"A Coast Guard helicopter has located it. A ship has already move in. Recovery efforts are in full swing. The capsule is expected to be brought to Sriharikota via the Ennore Port by Monday night," an ISRO official told PTI.
The capsule was launched by PSLV-C7 along with Cartosat-2 on January 10 from the Sriharikota spaceport and space scientists conducted two microgravity experiments on board related to metallurgy and biometric synthesis.
According to Bangalore-based ISRO, on re-entry into the earth's atmosphere, after initial aerodynamic braking, a parachute system reduced the touch down velocity.
A floatation system kept the SRE afloat.
ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair had said earlier that SRE was intended for demonstrating the capability to recover an orbiting space capsule, and the technology of an orbiting platform for performing experiments in microgravity condition.
Officials said SRE, made of mild steel, was intended to test reusable thermal protection system, navigation, guidance and control, hypersonic aero-thermodynamics, management of communication blackout, deceleration and floatation system and recovery operations
The 550-kg spacecraft, Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1), spashed down in the Bay of Bengal, about 140 km east of Sriharkikota coast at around 9.45 am on Monday as planned, ISRO officials said.
"A Coast Guard helicopter has located it. A ship has already move in. Recovery efforts are in full swing. The capsule is expected to be brought to Sriharikota via the Ennore Port by Monday night," an ISRO official told PTI.
The capsule was launched by PSLV-C7 along with Cartosat-2 on January 10 from the Sriharikota spaceport and space scientists conducted two microgravity experiments on board related to metallurgy and biometric synthesis.
According to Bangalore-based ISRO, on re-entry into the earth's atmosphere, after initial aerodynamic braking, a parachute system reduced the touch down velocity.
A floatation system kept the SRE afloat.
ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair had said earlier that SRE was intended for demonstrating the capability to recover an orbiting space capsule, and the technology of an orbiting platform for performing experiments in microgravity condition.
Officials said SRE, made of mild steel, was intended to test reusable thermal protection system, navigation, guidance and control, hypersonic aero-thermodynamics, management of communication blackout, deceleration and floatation system and recovery operations
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Cheers!!
The SRE experiment was a success!!
On to Chandrayaan..!
The SRE experiment was a success!!
On to Chandrayaan..!
most important thing of SRE are, a HIGHLY respected Reporter writes,
So to sum up,
1> Feasibility of developement of Quasicrystals in outer space.
2> Test of microgravity on microcrystals and their behavior.
3> Proving the Reusable thermal protection system...
4> Developement of thermal protection system with HOME GROWN TILES - a breakthrough of material science as most uses titanium.
5> HIGHLY IGNORED THING - Before Splash down it said 140 kms from shore after splashdown its accurately 140 kms away from shore - EXTREMELY high accuracy. "probably for indian RLV".
So to sum up,
1> Feasibility of developement of Quasicrystals in outer space.
2> Test of microgravity on microcrystals and their behavior.
3> Proving the Reusable thermal protection system...
4> Developement of thermal protection system with HOME GROWN TILES - a breakthrough of material science as most uses titanium.
5> HIGHLY IGNORED THING - Before Splash down it said 140 kms from shore after splashdown its accurately 140 kms away from shore - EXTREMELY high accuracy. "probably for indian RLV".
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