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Tag: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

ISRO unveils ‘Vyommitra’ robot for Gaganyaan Space Mission

Vyommitra’ or ‘friend in the sky‘ a female humanoid robot for Gaganyaan Space Mission has been unveiled by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). ISRO has planned to execute two unmanned missions in December 2020 and June 2021, before the Ganganyaan mission. The inaugural session of the “Human Spaceflight and Exploration – Present Challenges and Future Trends” was held in Bengaluru.

ISRO chairman K Sivan stated, the humanoid will simulate human functions in space and also interact with the environment control life support system, it will check whether the system is right. This will be very useful to simulate, as if a human is flying.

Indian flight surgeons to be trained by France for Gaganyaan mission

France will train Indian flight surgeons to enable them to monitor the health of astronauts selected for the ambitious human space mission. The two-week training is a critical aspect of the Gaganyaan project that is aimed at sending three Indians to space by 2022. The flight surgeons, who will be Indian Air Force doctors specialising in aviation medicines and responsible for the health of astronauts before, during and after flight, will be shortlisted soon. Those shortlisted will then undergo two weeks training in France.

Brigitte Godard, a flight surgeon with the European Space Agency, was in India in July and August last year to start the training of physicians and engineers. France has a well-established mechanism for space medicine. It also has the MEDES space clinic, a subsidiary of CNES, where space surgeons undergo training. The four shortlisted astronauts — all test pilots from the Indian Air Force — are currently in Russia for an 11-month training programme. India and France share robust ties in the area of space.

Isro-Astrophysics Institute partners to set up optical telescope

The Indian Space Research Organization signed a pact with Indian Institute of Astrophysics to establish an optical telescope under “Project NETRA”. The organisation also tied up with NIT-Karnataka to set up a regional academic centre for space to promote research and development.

Project NETRA was launched by ISRO in September 2019. Under the Project, ISRO plans to set up observational facilities that will help in making early warnings to satellites about debris and hazards in their orbit. It includes radars, telescopes, control centres and data processing units. The aim is to make the facilities powerful enough to track even the smallest particle of 10 cm diameter up to a range of 3,400 km.

Apart from ISRO, DRDO (Defence Research Development Organisation) operates NETRA (Network Traffic Analysis). It is a software network used to analyse internet traffic. It is used by Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Intelligence Bureau (IB) and other intelligence agencies of Government of India.

ISRO’s astronaut training hub in Challakere, Karnataka

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has proposed Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) at Challakere in Chitradurga district of Karnataka. The facility is expected to become operational in 3 years.

ISRO aims to establish a self-contained training facility here. At present, astronauts part of Gaganyaan Mission, the Human Spaceflight Programme of ISRO are trained in Russia. The centre aims at bringing in all the features that are provided by Russia and begin training astronauts within the country.

IBSA to organise week-long sports events from Jan 6

ibsa

Indian Blind Sports Association (IBSA) is organizing week-long sportsevents for the blind from 6 to 11 January, 2020 in the premises of The Blind Relief Association, Delhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, near the Oberoi Hotel, NewDelhi. The sports events will kick-start with inauguration of Kabaddi Championships at 10:00 am on, 6th January 2020.

Over 400 participants, including 85 female blind sports persons from 7states, namely, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamilnadu and Telangana will be taking part in the following events.

  • 5th IBSA Kabaddi Championships For Men (6-11 January)
  • 2nd IBSA Kabaddi Championships For Women (6-11 January)
  • 8th IBSA Powerlifting Championships (08 January)
  • Coaching Camp and Seminar on Blind Sports (6-11 January)

ISRO inks pact with NITK to set up Regional Academic Centre

isro nitk

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has set up a Regional Academic Centre for Space (RAC-S) at National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) at Surathkal in Mangaluru, to carry out advanced joint research and development (R&D) activities in the area of space technology applications.

The centre will help pursue advanced research in the areas of relevance to the future technological and programmatic needs of the Indian space programme. The centre will act as a facilitator for the promotion of space technology activities in the southern region comprising Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and Lakshadweep. It will become an ambassador for the capacity building, awareness creation, and R&D activities of ISRO in the region.

The activities of the centre will be guided by a Joint Policy and Management Committee (JPMC) consisting of top executives from the two organizations. JPMC will also facilitate collaborative activities between the partner institutions of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and Lakshadweep. ISRO will provide necessary annual grant, as recommended by the JPMC, to the tune of ₹2 crore for conducting R&D projects, promotional activities and administrative expenses.

India’s second spaceport to be in TN’s Thoothukdi: ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has earmarked 2,300 acres of land in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu, to set up its second launch centre after the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. The country’s premier space agency is in the process of acquiring the land for a yet-to-be-named new launch centre. ISRO chairman K Sivan stated that the new centre was part of ISRO’s capacity-building exercise.

The new launch centre will be initially for missions involving launching small satellites and small satellite launch vehicles (SSLVs). To carry forward the industry production of space systems, ISRO incorporated New Space India Limited (NSIL) under the Department of Space and efforts in realising PSLVs from industry have already been initiated.