Space Science & Technology for Mankind

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Space Science & Technology for Mankind


The Group posts very interesting Photos too !

7CPC - Don't jack up your hopes

Many websites on/for  CG Employees and Pensioners ,  infact everyday, releases news about blown up offers from Govt/7CPC .  But fact remains that none of these hopes of higher pay or multiplication factor are true. They are all just GUESS WORK !

The latest news,  however , reports that the upward modifications to pay / pension and pay matrix are expected to be very minimal !

So its better,  don't count the chicken before it hatches !!

Potions for the future

Dr. K.Sivan,  Director, VSSC, seems to be preparing the right potion for the future of Indian Launch vehicles. Reports say that ISRO is gearing up for the next RLV launch . Please read the report below, from TheHindu.  And let's all wish ISRO a great successful next launch immediately.

Only in right measure

Do you drink ?  May be to ward off the evening boredom ! Or may be on appreciation of its good effects !!

Oh...No... I am not trying to promote drinking alcohol.  But, by this time, I am sure you know what's good and bad of drinking. I dont have to tell you anything on that .  But you may like to know  some interesting aspects of drinking ! To make it a pleasant experience. That too from an expert on this subject.   I'm just quoting from an article in TheHindu.

Central Govt Employees Confederation

Central Govt Employees Confederation has requested the Govt to take steps to implement the 7CPC recommendations (with necessary amendments) immediately.

7CPC - crawling to implementation

Recent reports say :

The Empowered Committee of Secretaries is likely to hand over a report on the revised pay structures of 7CPC recommendations to the Finance Minister by the end of June.

The FM recently confirmed that the government had requisite funds to implement  the 7CPC  award. The Cabinet Secretary is expected to make his final appearance before the the Empowered Committee on June 11 to make a proposal on the recommendations before cabinet nod.

ISRO's new frontiers

A "should not miss" article - an Editorial in TheHindu dt 25th May -  is reproduced below. You MUST read this !!

ABPP - Remember ?

Early birds in VSSC would certainly remember Air-Breating Propulsion Project and its Project Director Sri. J D A Subramoniam.   Now that ABPP realises, Hats off to you Sri. JDA  !!

The above paper report is from TheHindu.

The Fall

Reproduced below is an article (TheHindu) relevant to all of us, Seniors.
Beware ! A fall may cost you your life !  Be careful.

7CPC - Implementation

The latest reports say that the  Empowered Committee Meeting is likely on 11th June . Staff Side JCM, Nodal Officers from all Ministries will be participating. Committee’s report may be handed over to Govt by June 30.

RLV Launch - Congratulations

Today,  the latest Mission - R L V - is launched successfully. Please read the NDTV report below .

SRIHARIKOTA:  India successfully tested its first-ever swadeshi or indigenous space shuttle today as its scale model - the Re-Usable Launch Vehicle - Technology Demonstrator or RLV-TD - was launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh at 7 am. Nearly 20 minutes after its lift-off, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced, "mission accomplished".

ISROfef congratulates ISRO for the fantastic Mission !


NDTV carries a very informative article on this Mission . Please Click here to read NDTV article
And for the hurried, the article is copiedd down here !

Here are 10 must-know facts about the big launch:

1. The 6.5 metre-long scale model of the re-usable launch vehicle weighs about 1.75 tonnes and was made at a cost of Rs. 95 crore. It was built at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram by a team of 600 scientists over five years.
2. Re-usable technology aims to help reduce the cost of launching objects into space by 10 times. It costs about $ 20,000 to send a kilogram in space currently.
3. Indian Space Research Organization or ISRO plans to test two more such prototypes before the final version which will be about six times larger at around 40 metres and will take off around 2030.
4. After the test flight was declared successful, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated scientists at ISRO and tweeted: “Launch of India's first indigenous space shuttle RLV-TD is the result of the industrious efforts of our scientists. Congrats to them.”
5. The spacecraft was launched atop a nine-ton rocket engine that has been designed to burn slowly to accommodate vertical lifting of a winged body.
6. After the launch, the space shuttle flew to an altitude of 70 kilometres and then engaged in a free-gliding flight that started with an initial velocity five times that of sound. It then landed on a stretch of water in the Bay of Bengal some 500 kilometres from Sriharikota.
7. This was the first time that ISRO flew a winged body and brought it back to land on a make-shift runway. In further tests, an undercarriage will be placed to make it land, possibly at Sriharikota.
8. The final RLV will be about 40 meters in length and will also be able carry Indian astronauts. On this first flight, the RLV-TD will not be recovered but the data collected will be used to improve the designs, paving the runway to the final model.
9. No other country is currently operationally flying a winged spacecraft into space - the US retired its space shuttles in 2011 and the Russians flew theirs only once in 1989.
10. In a race to master re-usable technology for space shuttles, the RLV will be pitted against the likes of SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Blue Origin's New Shephard rocket - both the companies have already partially tested re-usable space shuttles.
11. 
    

ISRO Missions

Before I congratulate  ISRO team for the great RLV mission,  let me link you to an interesting article in YAHOO today. It makes every ISROian proud.

ISRO's achievements

And if you are in a hurry to read the article, here it is (copied from Yahoo ) !

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to make history as it gears up to launch its first space shuttle on 23 May, 2016, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, making India the fifth country to do so. The fully indigenous launch vehicle, RLV-TD (Reusable Launch Vehicle - Technology Development) was made at a cost of just Rs. 95 crores, and took five years to build. Standing 6.5 m high and weighing 1.75 tons, the shuttle will cross the speed of sound as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere. This is the first time that India will launch a spacecraft with delta wings, which will be glided back on to a virtual runway in the Bay of Bengal. The RLV-TD is a scaled down version of the final spacecraft, which can take 10-15 years to become ready.              

India’s premier space organisation has a number of feathers in its cap. We take a look at ISRO’s achievements that has made India proud, and the future projects that the space agency has lined up:

Chandrayaan 1: India’s first mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan 1, was launched on 22 October, 2008, using a modified version of the PSLV from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The mission had a 312 days operational period, where it surveyed the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical characteristics and 3-dimensional topography. The spacecraft carried a total of 11 instruments free of cost, of which five were Indian and six were from foreign institutes and space agencies. The mission also collected data, which helped NASA detect magmatic water locked under the surface of the Moon. 

Mangalyaan: Undoubtedly, one of the most proud moments in the history of the space organisation was the launch of ISRO’s mission to Mars, Mangalyaan. The Mars Orbiter Mission was the first successful attempt by any country to reach the planet, in its first attempt, with ISRO becoming the fourth space agency to reach the planet, after the Soviet Space Programme, NASA, and the European Space Programme. Costing just Rs. 450 crores, it was also the least expensive Mars mission, till date. Launched on 5 November, 2013, the Orbiter entered the Red Planet’s orbit on September 24, 2014, after a 666 million km long journey, and has remained in orbit, collecting vital scientific data, ever since.  For its achievement, the Mars mission team won the prestigious 2015 Space Pioneer Award in the science and engineering category.

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS): ISRO launched its seventh, and final satellite, called NAVIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation), in April, this year. The launch of the satellite will help India have its own GPS system in place, covering an area of 1,500 kms from Indian boundaries. This makes India one of the five countries with its own navigation system, with an accuracy of better than 20m.

Heaviest commercial mission: In the heaviest commercial mission ever undertaken by it, ISRO launched five British satellites on board the PSLV-C28, from Sriharikota, on 10 July, 2015. Three identical DMC3 optical earth observation satellites, each weighing 447 kgs, and two auxiliary satellites, were launched.

GSLV MK-III: In December, 2014, ISRO launched the GSLV MK-III, one of its heaviest rockets, weighing 630 tonnes and capable of carrying 4 tonnes. It also carried an Indian made unmanned crew capsule, designed to carry up to three astronauts into space.  

Space Capsule Recovery (SRE-I) mission: The Indian experimental spacecraft SRE-I, was launched from Sriharikota on 10 January, 2007. Designed to demonstrate the ability to recover an orbiting space capsule, the SRE-I also tested a number of technologies such as reusable Thermal Protection System, management of communication-blackouts, decerelation and flotation system for water-splash landing, guidance algorithms for ballistic entry, etc. The mission acted as a precursor to a possible future manned mission.

Future plans:

ISRO has a number of plans lined up for the future. Apart from undertaking the development of new launch vehicles and spacecraft, it also has plans to launch Earth Observation Satellites, unmanned missions to near Earth objects, and other planets. Here are some projects that ISRO has planned for the future:  

Dr. D S Rane

Dr. D S Rane is no more. He reached the heavenly adobe on 21st May at Delhi.




ISROfef  prays May his Soul rest in peace,   and  expresses heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family

Dr. D.S Rane , VSSC

Dr D S Rane holds BE degree from Bombay University (1957) and MS (1959) and PhD (1962) in Electrical Engineering from Michigan State University with a specialization in Sampled Data Control Systems.. He was also a faculty member at Michigan State University. Later he was Assistant Professor and Associate Professor and also held the coveted position of Director of the computer Centre at Pennsylvania Military College during 1962-71 (except for a year in1966-67 when he was Head of Systems Engineering Division at the Space Science and Technology Centre, ISRO). Dr Rane rejoined ISRO in 1971 and has held the positions of Head Systems Engineering Division, Head Computer Division and the Director of the Computer and Information Group at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Trivandrum until 1995.

Dr Rane has been associated with the area of IT right from the inception of modern day computers and has years of teaching and R&D experience with him. He is also a consultant in the area of IT for various companies and organizations. He is a Senior Member of IEEE, CSI, Tau Beta Pi (The Engineering Honor Society of USA) and a Fellow of Institute of Engineers (India).

Among many honors and awards, Dr Rane is a recipient of the Third Millennium award from IEEE, FIE Foundation award (in 1994) for outstanding contributions in Science and Technology and was honored as ‘Eminent Computer Engineer’ by Institution of Engineers (India).

Minimum Pay of 24000 (not 18000 !)

GConnect reports quoting the Secretary of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh that Govt may consider minimum pay of 24,000, against 18000 recommended by 7CPC.

The notification for implementation of  7CPC will be issued in the last week of June, The payout  will begin in July 2016.

This report comes wrt  a meeting with the BJP’s labour wing BMS and Sri. Jitendra Prasad, Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions. He told the delegation that Govt would positively look into the demand of the CG employees. “The minister said we will consider the proposal of minimum pay of at 24,000”, Pawan Kumar, Regional Organizing Secretary, BMS told Zee Media Bureau.

Is India ageing ?

The information given below (from TheHindu) is thought provoking. Please go through in detail.

Sri. P. Radhakrishnan

Sri. P.  Radhakrishnan

None of you will not be knowing him ! Yeah … every ISROite  knows him  as “Astronaut Radhakrishnan”.  But now the Country knows him as “Scientist Guru” .  Is he ‘Scientist Guru’ or ‘Guru Scientist’ ?  He is both.

Sri. Radhakrishnan  travels all over the country and gives lectures to Students of various levels.  From School students to Masters in Universities.  He lectures  not only on Space Science , but on History of Space Reasearch, Physics, and Scientific temper .

ISROfef  wishes him a million million more stages for his lectures. Every listener I am sure   learns, interests, and benefits .

Here, in the photo below,  he is seen lecturing at the venue of  “Science Orientation Programme for students” organized by the Kerala State Council for Science Technology and Environment.

100 % increase in Salary and Allowances

Hey.... don't be surprised . It's not for you !

Ahead of the implementation of the 7CPC , members of Parliament (MPs) have recommended a hike of 100% for themselves, saying they deserve it for their ‘good conduct’.

A joint committee on salaries and allowances of Members of Parliament (MPs) under BJP MP Yogi Aditya Nath has recommended doubling of MPs salaries and perks.

According to an NDTV report, a parliamentary committee has suggested that the salary of MPs be raised from Rs 50,000 to a lakh a month and the constituency allowance be raised from Rs 45,000 to Rs 90,000. If the committee’s proposal is accepted, the total compensation package for an MP will go up from Rs 1,40,000 to 2,80,000.

Be happy, all of you. Your Pensions will not be doubled !!