-------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Wishing all Goanetters | | a Prosperous | | and | | Happy New Year - 2006 | | Goanet - http://www.goanet.org | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- India's commercial space launch by May
Tuesday, January 03, 2006, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In what will be the country's first fully commercial satellite launch, India is to take the Italian satellite Agile to outer space aboard the PSLV C-8 around April or May, ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair said today. ''We are also planning for the GSLV launch in April, which will carry the INSAT 4-C for augmenting DTH technology in the country,'' Nair told reporters on the sidelines of the national workshop on ''Space Applications for Mankind'', organised by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre here. The PSLV and GSLV rockets are to be launched from the first and second launch pads at Sriharikota respectively. Nair said India's launch vehicles were cost-effective. ''It will be a great opportunity for us if we can capture at least 10 per cent in the launch business, which is worth $ 2 billion in the international market,'' he said. Nair told the press conference that India had successfully tested an ''air-breathing'' engine in Russia for 10 seconds at ground level. The test was a good beginning and the engine's sounding module could be tested in two or three years, he said. The technology would help bring down the launch modules' cost, as it uses atmospheric air for combustion. Rockets now carry fuel and oxidisers, whereas for air-breathing engines, which use hypersonic technology, fewer oxidisers are required. By the time the GSLV MK-3-which is to have a 4 tonne payload capacity-is launched in 2008, the cost of space access could be reduced to $10,000 per kg of payload. Launch technology would be commercially feasible if the cost was reduced to $1000 per kg of payload, Nair said. Speaking of challenges for the next generation of space technology, Nair named the tapping of solar energy from space for terrestrial use as one of the prime research topics of the future. With recoverable spacecraft, the prospects of space tourism could also be explored, he said. ''A host of new challenges including whether nearby celestial bodies, like the moon and Mars, could be made habitable for humans will be taken up by the space community in future,'' Nair said. At the function, Nair also presented the Bhaskara Award, instituted by the Indian Society for Remote Sensing (ISRS), to Dr K Krishnanunny. VSSC director B N Suresh said ISRO had touched the lives of every Indian by successfully implementing applications in key sectors. Bangalore Watershed Development Department commissioner Muniappa delivered the keynote address on the application of space technology for natural resource management and sustainable livelihoods. (Source: PRESS TRUST OF INDIA) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Goa - 2005 Santosh Trophy Champions | | | | Support Soccer Activities at the grassroots in our villages | | Vacationing in Goa this year-end - Carry and distribute Soccer Balls | --------------------------------------------------------------------------
