Mighty India Power

New Delhi, Sept 19, 2008: India will join a select group of nations when it sends its first mission to moon on October 19 this year. This will be a big scientific feat for a developing nation like India that has not received much scientific assistance from the west. ISRO has already made it clear that the Indian lunar mission will not be an exercise in reinventing the wheel. Chandrayaan-1 will strive to unravel the hitherto unknown features of the moon for the first time. ISRO points out that a lunar mission can provide impetus to science in India, a challenge to technology and possibly a new dimension to international cooperation. Also on the agenda are the preparation of the three dimensional atlas of the regions on the moon and the chemical mapping of the entire lunar surface. This is a dream for any nation. And India is going to fulfill its long cherished dream on this coming 19th October. Everyone is unanimous on one thing. If India’s Moon project is successful, it will be...

Indian scientists have developed path-breaking technology that has the potential to increase the range of missiles and satellite launch vehicles by at least 40%, a member of the team which achieved the technological breakthrough said. India’s longest-range missile, Agni III, is capable of hitting targets 3,500 km away and the new technology could boost its range to 4,900 km. The enhanced range is made possible by adding a special-purpose coating of chromium metal to the blunt nose cone of missiles and launch vehicles, G Jagadeesh, an assistant professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) here said. IISc, which is in celebrating its centenary this year, has applied for an international patent for the technology. “Objects such as missiles fly at hypersonic velocities which are more than five times the speed of sound and encounter atmospheric drag because of friction. The chromium coating works by adding temporary heat and pushing the stagnating gas away to create an easier path...

Calling the NSG waiver a big achievement for the country, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair on Monday said it will help the Indian space department access latest space technologies from developed nation. "It is a major achievement for India. We will have a better opportunity to interact with other developed nations on sharing certain space technologies," Nair told reporters on the sidelines of a function at SRM University here. He said the signing of the 123 Agreement with the US will in a way help the ISRO work closely with the NASA. On the "Chandrayaan-I" (moon) mission, Nair said all the technical parameters for the launch were progressing well and the launch "is expected by this October end". He said the country's space department has world-class technologies to provide valuable inputs to tackle natural disasters. "We have been monitoring the floods in Bihar. The National Remote Sensing Centre in Hyderabad has been receiving updates from a Ca...

The 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) has finally given its nod to the Indo-US nuclear deal in Vienna on Saturday. Ending three decades of isolation, India has joined the elite nuclear club. The NSG waiver has come through on the third day of the crucial talks in Vienna after push from the highest political level, the opposing countries gave their nod. Sources say apart from External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee's statement, there is no reference to ban on tests or termination of deal if India tests. US President George W Bush called Prime Minister Manmohan Singh soon after the waiver came through. Congress president Sonia Gandhi congratulated the PM. Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon has told NDTV that the text permits full civil nuclear cooperation between India and the world. Atomic Energy's chief negotiator in Vienna Ravi B Grover told NDTV that it's a clean waiver for India at the NSG, changes in the draft made have been mutually agreed upon. "...

Antrix Corp Ltd, the marketing arm of the Indian Space research Organisation (ISRO),  has bagged launch orders from Algeria and Italy for earth observation satellites that will be put into orbit next year by the agency's workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The contract from the Algerian space agency is for the launch of its 200kg Alsat-2A, remote sensing satellite. For Antrix, this is the first ever contract from an African nation. Algeria retains the option to contract for the launch of a second satellite. The Italian space agency Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, has contracted for the launch of its IMSAT satellite, which, incidentally will become the second satellite from this European country to be boosted into space by ISRO.  Earlier, in April 2007, ISRO launched the Agile, a 352kg scientific satellite for the same agency. No financial details have been disclosed for these deals. Along with the Algerian and Italian payloads, a 100kg satellite from Singapore's...

India is preparing to conduct the third trial of its advanced interceptor missile in November from the Chandipur-on-sea interim test range in coastal Orissa, a top defence official said Friday.“Preparations are on to conduct the interceptor missile test for building an indigenous defence shield in early November. It is aimed at intercepting and destroying ballistic missiles from a long range,” defence scientist V.K. Saraswat told IANS here. The configuration of the upcoming trial will be different from the previous one, conducted in December 2007, as the attempt this time is to approach higher kill altitude, with accurate interception. “We have already conducted a test in endo-atmosphere at a distance of 48 km. We are aiming at much higher altitude in exo-atmosphere, which is 50-75 km above the earth,” said Saraswat, chief controller of research & development of the missile programme at the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO). The 7.5-metre interceptor missile...