Category: Space

I’d been on a trip to Hyderabad-Vellore-Thiruvananthapuram. At Hyderabad, my friend from Planetary Society, India took me for my first night sky observation through a telescope and my first International Year of Astronomy 2009 observation.

We got there around 8:30 pm after a day long tour of Hyderabad. Wasn’t too tired keeping in mind the astronomy. The place was a place close to the border of Osmania University called Ramanathapuram. This place actually had temperatures a few degrees below the norm.

It started getting shivery after a while. We headed to the place where the scope was kept along with the accompanying kit and motorcycled it to the observation place. Raghunandan at this point, likened it to taking India’s first sounding rocket on a cycle. Telescope on a motorcycle. Heheh. Please don’t forget that we’re still shivering. It was cold. 9 degrees C without any warm clothes.

As we dropped the telescope at home, we headed for dinner on the motorbike – the wind made the whole thing even worse and it became shivering cold. Actually felt my knee joints shiver.

Back at the observation post, we discovered the Moon didn’t help too much of the deep sky observation but we pointed it to the Moon and saw its termination line. We also got sight of the Orion nebulae.

We then settled down into bed and then early morning we got up for a beautiful glimpse at Saturn. We had a lot of fun in between exploring UFO and aliens in space possibilities including several ideas for infra-red telescopes. Lots of fun!

I thought it was a good way to mark the International Year of Astronomy by going to a venue where the general public in Mumbai readily associate with Astronomy – Nehru Planetarium. I reached there around 1130 hrs in the morning expecting to catch up if there was a global solar observation campaign at mid-day. There was none, so I caught up with the Discovery of India exhibition at the Nehru Centre nearby. They don’t allow photography inside, but that’s good because it’s a free entry exhibition that anyone who visits Mumbai should see. It’d be best to see it not as a part of packaged tour mode.

Well, the Planetarium looked pretty normal. No written note informing us about the International Year of Astronomy. The Planetarium book store is also pretty ordinary. As a child, I remembered seeing better telescopes and binocs than the current ones kept on display. The companies were non-descripit. The Indian telescope companies like Tejraj were missing or were they in a store room somewhere? They do keep basic stuff like star charts etc. Then there are lots of comic and cookery books. I actually saw two ladies go in there and buy cookery books! From a Planetarium!

Going inside, I expected a verbal mention of International Year of Astronomy in the talk given at the foyer where you’re basically introduced to the solar system and get to see the lunar and martian surfaces and weighing yourself on Earth, a few of the planets, the Sun and the Moon (it’s a bit goofy but fun). I actually saw a man showing his weights on different planets and trying to explain to him the effect gravity had on weight but not on mass. That was quite cool, I thought and in that way, I guess that exhibit did serve some purpose besides fun!

Dr. Piyush Pandey, the Director of the Planetarium is on the Outreach Committee of IYA 2009 celebrations in India, for which IUCAA is the nodal agency. So, I really did expect some mention of it at his Planetarium. I did see him but didn’t want to disturb him as he was entertaining some guests. Mr. Manoj Pai of the Confederation of Indian Amateur Astronomers (CIAA) later told me that in a press note released by IUCAA said that India’s IYA 2009 inaugration is happening on 10th January 2009 in Pune.

Next up was the short video on Kalpana Chawla. This video has been shown since the tragic Columbia disaster in 2003. It has now been added with a small list of an astronomical presentation (astronomy institutions, celestial events etc.). I thought that Kalpana Chawla video would have served as a wonderful introduction to the perseverance of mankind in exploring outer space. That despite such disasters, man will go back to outer space and that the loss of her life would be used as a lesson to prevent such disasters in the future. This would have also been a good introduction to India’s own human space flight programme. The training complex will be in Bangalore and all the budding astronauts in the large child audience there could have learnt that they now didn’t have to go to NASA to become an astronaut! Missed oppertunities.

On the way to the sky theatre are ofcourse various outer space images and Indian space craft exhibits. Got a wonderful seat and watched the Planetarium’s 33rd show called “Secrets of the Sun & Conquest of the Moon”. So, we did see the Sun using SOHO images in ultraviolet! Telescope with filters might have been more fun, but what the heck. They also showed a Chandrayaan 1 animation they had prepared for the launch, which showed the space craft reaching the moon in 5.5 days instead of the longer 15 day trek that took it there in reality. The show was prepared before the launch and I’m sure they would not have anticipated ISRO’s change of launch strategy at the time they made this. The animation of the Moon Impact Probe was much more believeable than the ones we saw on TV during the event on November 14.

These presentations do cost a lot of money to make. Each show costs the Planetarium about Rs. 5-10 lakh rupees. I put forth this idea with Mr. Rathore, with whom I had 5 min discussion about possibly involving student volunteers to make these shows. It’s an experience for the kids and might cut atleast some cost for the Planetarium. I also recently read on a mailing list I’m on that Indian Planetariums are really under-funded to the extent of not having standard and sound academic journals. Really tough times for these guys. It would be great if bollywood stars or industrialists with some interest in astronomy, donate to these institutions of science.

Anyway, the last scene showed a possibility of Indian astronaut setting up a robotic telescope facility on the Moon for India to explore the skies. India does have some experience with robotic facilities since its observatory at Hanle, Jammu & Kashmir, the second highest observatory in the world, is controlled from the south Indian city of Bangalore by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. They would probably do more of the control when India launches Astrosat (telescopes on satellite with capability of viewing an object on all wavelengths simultaneously) later this year or next year.

All in all, the next decade might just become the golden era of Indian Space Exploration, possibly not as path breaking scientifically as Aryabhata’s prediction of heliocentricity, eclipse and planetary orbit predictions, but definitely a technological boost for the country. I really hope that Indian planetaria uses IYA 2009 to improve themselves and present a better experience to the general Indian public. In an era of Discovery Channel, YouTube and several online resources, it is difficult to survive or thrive but it is an experience for the kids equalled only by a trip to space!

Wishing one and all a Happy New Year. In the coming year, 2009, I’ll be going on a tour of some of the observatories in India. The trip can, perhaps be best described as a pilgrimage to the Holy places of astronomy in the country, with a connection to the heavens! I like how that snugly fits the description. So, without much ado, here is the list of observatories I plan on visiting, subject to their approval:

1. Indian Astronomical Observatory, Hanle
2. ARIES, Nainital
3. DU Observatory
4. Mt. Abu Observatory
5. Girawali Observatory
6. GMRT, Narayangaon
7. Osmania Univ Observatory, Hyderabad
8. CREST, Bangalore
9. Ooty Observatory
10.Vainu Bappu Observatory, Kavalur
11. Kodaikanal Observatory

In addition to going there physically and adding pictures and videos, I would also like to take the oppertunity to adding information related to all these observatories on various online sources – Wikimapia and Wikipedia. The entries on Wikipedia especially are deplorable. Updates on this blog will also include these efforts.

In addition, throughout the year, it would be lovely to interact with the many amateur astronomy clubs that dot India. From January 4 – 15 I will be travelling through Hyderabad, Vellore, Trichy and Thiruvanathapuram. If you happen to have an astronomy club on this route please inform me and I’ll try to make it to your place during my journeys. These might be a good way to spend the nights!

Hopefully, by the end of 2009, I would have covered a fair cross section of the astronomy community in India.

The successor of India’s current workhorse, the PSLV is the GSLV and has been in development/improvement mode for quite some time. Since the cryogenic engine’s flight acceptance test, the GSLV to which the engine is likely to be integrated has been on the news.

A report in the Economic Times today quoted K. Radhakrishnan, Director, VSSC (India’s rocketry hub) as saying that the GSLV will be used for India’s manned mission and possibly India’s first mission to Mars in 2013.

Also under development is the awesomely named GSLV Mk III. This rocket is expected to halve the cost of sending a payload into space! Think of the benefits and advantage this could be for Antrix, which has already made Rs. 1000 crores this year in the launch and satellite segments and which aims to grow at a steady 20% pa! After the flight trials slated for 2010-11 are over, this would really be a great competitor. Also, the GSLV Mk III will help India’s own space ambitions by being able to send more Indians on one flight than the GSLV and also sending sizeable payloads into deep space for missions to Mars. This could also be a great vehicle for the proposed missions to the asteroid and also the cometary flyby. By the time these missions are slated for, GSLV and GSLV Mk III would more or less prove their reliability and safety.

The regular GSLV can put a 2.2 tonne payload into GTO or send a 500 kg payload to Mars, according to the VSSC Director. The Mk III on the other hand will be capable of delivering a 4 tonne payload into GTO and much heavier payload to Mars. Interesting times are ahead!

On November 21, 1963, a Nike-Apache rocket blasted off from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station at Thumba, Kerala. This event signalled the dawn of the Indian Space Programme. In 2003, India commemorated the 40th anniversary of the sounding rocket launch with a speech delivered by R Aravamudan, an adivsor to ISRO and a person who has been associated with the effort from much before the sounding rocket launch. The Indian Space Programme was picked out from a large talent pool within the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) by the father of the Indian Space Programme, Vikram Sarabhai.

Unlike many space programmes around the world, the Indian Space Programme progressed at a steady pace. In what can be called the Vikram Sarabhai decade stretching out from 1963 to 1973, the period was for vision, sowing the seeds of the programme, getting the key people together and setting up of various resources required for the development of these programmes. The second decade under the healm of Satish Dhawan from 1973 to 1983, India delineated the Space Programme, got Government approvals (ISRO became a government body in 1972 and was formed out of INCOSPAR). In this decade, India saw the launch of it’s first satellite, Aryabhata in 1975 and also the development of the indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle by Abdul Kalam. Almost simultaneously, the USA applied sanctions against India on the export of dual-use technology to India. India was thus forced to look at indigenous solutions. Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE), called the largest social space experiment in the world, also happened during this time. The third decade was under U R Rao (1983-1993), was a learning period of India. A period of sub-system and launch vehicle component development, testing out of the new launch vehicles (ASLV and PSLV) yielding significant data, setting up and operationalising of the remote sensing programmes, development of ground infrastructure and launch of operational satellites in geosynchronus and low earth orbits. It was in this decade, that India had its first Cosmonaut in Rakesh Sharma who famously said,”Saare jahan se acha, Hindustan hamara” (More beautiful than all lands on Earth is our nation, India). The fourth decade came up under Dr. Kasturirangan (1993-2003), saw rich returns for India’s investments in the space programme. Successes with launches and launch vehicle technologies like the PSLV and GSLV ensured with an assured safety gave India the confidence to move ahead. It was around this time that ISRO’s commercial arm, Antrix Corporation was setup. India began to provide launch facilites for international customers. The end of this decade was also when ISRO claimed in 1999 that it was ready for a journey to the moon and the root of Chandrayaan 1 lay. The programme was announced in 2003, giving ISRO the go-ahead for the programme.The current decade is under the healm of Madhavan Nair and is expected to stretch out till 2013. We’re already seeing the boost of Indian space science missions along with other satellite missions of the INSAT and IRS classes. Astrosat is another space science mission expected in 2009-10 timeframe. The expansion of the space science programme is a wonderful thing to be a part of.

           
With this back ground, I think we can more realistically look at ISRO’s successes in 2008. 2008’s crowning glory for ISRO is India’s maiden mission to the Moon (Video – requires Internet Explorer), Chandrayaan 1. The beautiful launch (Video – requires Internet Explorer) with monsoon clouds for a back drop, the thrilling sensation as the PSLV went into and burst out of a bank of clouds are perhaps the most wonderful images/videos to come from the Indian space programme. It happened on October 22, 2008. A little more than a fortnight later on the momentous occassion of Children’s Day (the birthday of Jawaharlal Nehru, the man who backed the initiation of the Indian space and nuclear programmes when India had just attained freedom), the Moon Impact Probe crash landed on the surface of the Moon, signalling India’s presence there with a symbolic flag painted on all sides of the MIP. This heralded India’s entry into the deep space missions category. Later in December, India completed the design phase of Chandrayaan II and announced that it would be on track to reach the lunar surface in 2012. Chandrayaan 1 also announced a low cost access to space by costing only $79 million, much of which was invested in technology and training that would aid future space missions of India.

In the launch vehicle section, the PSLV which also put Chandrayaan 1 in orbit, scored a success by placing 10 satellites in orbit. This was using only its core rockets and without using its strap-ons. The satellites, placed in orbit including the Indian CARTOSAT-2A and IMS-1 (Indian Mini Satellite) and eight foriegn payloads had to be done with great precision to ensure that satellites do not hit each other and are placed in appropriate orbits, as per requirements. This success in April 28, 2008, assured ISRO of the reliability and flexibility of the PSLV as a launch vehicle. There were also significant gains in the indigenous cryogenic rocket technology, which passed flight acceptance on December 18. The engine will fly with GSLV-D3.

In the commercial satellites section too it has been a great year. Antrix Corporation, ISRO’s commercial arm started the year with a secret launch of Israel’s millitary satellite. It’s achievements also include the development of TECSAR and W2M. W2M, the more recent launch on 20 December, 2008, was built for the European telecom giant, Eutelsat. Built in an awesome 26 months for an amazing $80 million, ISRO managed to meet all deadlines set down by Eutelsat. The W2m also allowed India an opportunity to control the launch and early orbit phases of operations from its Master Control Facility, Hassan. In addition to these big commercial successes, Antrix also continued supporting the launch of nanosatellites.

ISRO also ended 2008 on a high note by announcing a slew of upcoming missions/partnerships. India announced that it would be on Mars by 2013 and said it had evolved missions for landing a space craft on an asteroid and a comet flyby missions. Many of the major announcements related to the Indian human space flight programme. The ISRO chief announced that any Indian who was healthy and physically fit can join up into what would be India’s astronaut corps. It also announced a venture with Russian Roskosmos, where it said that India would use a re-modelled form of the Soyuz for its human space flight in 2015. India also announced a joint 2-manned mission with Russia ala Rakesh Sharma’s flight with erstwhile USSR.

It has been a great and busy year for India and hopefully 2009 will see more missions,more scientific results, more social aid, more commercial benefits and more exciting missions. Wishing all of you a happy and prosperous 2009!

Well, I never do much blogging on the first day of the year, devoting more to life and all such. But, since 2009 is also being marked as the International Year of Astronomy 2009 by a visit to Nehru Planetarium, that bastion of astronomy for the general public. I came back from this trip a bit disappointed, more on that in an accompanying post.I have also put together ISRO’s technological highlights for 2008. I will also begin updating my Telescopes of India blog on a weekly basis starting today.

Wishing everyone who passes by a Happy New Year 2009.