INDIAN SPACE PROGRAMME

INDIAN SPACE PROGRAMME Despite being a developing economy with its attendant problems, India has effectively developed space technology and has applied it successfully for its rapid development and today is offering a variety of space services globally. During the formative decade of 1960s, space research was conducted by India mainly with the help of sounding rockets. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was formed in 1969. Space research activities were provided additional fillip with the formation of the Space Commission and the Department of Space by the government of India in 1972. And, ISRO was brought under the Department of Space in the same year. In the history of the Indian space programme, 70s were the era of Experimentation during which experimental satellite programmes like Aryabhatta, Bhaskara, Rohini and Apple were conducted. The success of those programme, led to era of operationalisation in 80s during which operational satellite programmes like INSAT and IRS came into being. Today, INSAT and IRS are the major programmes of ISRO.

The most significant milestone of the Indian Space Programme during the year 2005-2006 was the successful launch of PSLV-C6. On 5 May 2005, the ninth flight of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C6) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota successfully placed two satellites - the 1560 kg CARTOSTAR-1 and 42kg HAMSAT - into a predetermined polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO). Coming after seven launch successes in a row, the success of PSLV-C6 further demonstrated the reliability of PSLV and its capability to place payloads weighing demonstrated the reliability of PSLV and its capability to place payloads weighing up to 1600 kg satellites into a 600 km high polar SSO.

The successful launch of INSAT-4A, the heaviest and most powerful satellite built by India so far, on 22 December 2005 was the other major event of the year 2005- 06. INSAT-4A is capable of providing Direct-To-Home (DTM) television broadcasting Services.)

INDIAN NATIONAL SATELLITE SYSTEM
The Indian National Satellite (INSAT) system is one of the largest domestic communication satellite systems in the Asia-Pacific region. In the 1980s, it initiated a major revolution in India's communications sector and sustained the same later. The satellites of INSAT system, which are in service today, are INSAT-2F, INSAT-3A, INSAT-3B, INSAT-3C, INSAT-3E, KALPANA-1, GSAT-2, EDUSAT and INSAT-4A, that was launched recently. The system provides a total of about 175 transponders in the C, Extended C and Ku-bands. Being a multipurpose satellite system, INSAT provides services to telecommunications, television broadcasting, weather forecasting, disaster warning and Search and Rescue fields.

INSAT system is also providing meteorological services through Very High Resolution Radiometer and CCD cameras on some of its spacecraft. This apart, cyclone monitoring through meteorological imaging and issue of warnings on impending cyclones through disaster warning receivers have been operationalised. For this, 350 receivers have been installed along the east and west coasts of India.

INDIAN REMOTE SENSING SATELLITE SYSTEMIndia has the largest constellation of Remote Sensing Satellites, which are providing services both at the national and global levels. From the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) Satellites, data is available in a variety of spatial resolutions staring from 360 metres and highest resolution being 2.5 metres. Besides, the state-of-the-art cameras of IRS spacecraft take the pictures of the Earth in several spectral bands. In future, ISRO intends to launch IRS spacecraft with better spatial resolution and capable of imaging day and night. The satellites of IRS system which are in service today are IRS-1C, IRS- ID, IRS-P3, OCEANSAT-1, Technology Experimental Satellite (TES), RESOURCESAT-1, and the recently launched CARTOSAT-1 capable of taking stereo pictures. The upcoming Remote Sensing Satellite are Cartosat-2, RISAT (Redar Imaging Satellite) and Oceansat-2.

LAUNCH VEHICLES
After successfully testing the first indigenous launch vehicle SLV-3 in 1980, ISRO built the next generation Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV). ISRO's Launch Vehicle Programme had a giant leap with the successful launch of IRS-P2 spacecraft onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in October 1994. On 18 April 2001, India successfully launched is Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). Technology development for advanced launch vehicles made good progress with the breakthrough achieved during the year in Supersonic Combustion Ramjet (SCRAMJET) to be employed in Air-Breathing engine. This is an important element in the launch vehicle technology development. Concepts for reusable launch vehicle are also being studied.

POLAR SATELLITE LAUNCH VEHICLEThe four stage PSLV is capable of launching upto 1,600 kg satellites into a 620 km polar orbit. It has provision to launch payloads from 100 kg micro-satellites or mini or small satellites in different combinations. It can also launch one-two class payloads into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). So far, it has performed nine missions with eight consecutive successes. The latest launch of PSLV (PSLV-C6) was on 5 May 2005 during which the vehicle precisely placed the 1560 kg CARTOSAT-1 and the 42 kg HAMSAT into a 620 km high polar SSO.

GEOSYNCHRONOUS SATELLITE LAUNCH VEHICLEThe GSLV was successful on its very first test flight. After its successful second flight on 8 May 2003, it was commissioned. This was followed by the success of its third flight on 20 September 2004. The GSLV is capable of launching 2,000 kg class satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). The development of Indigenous cryogenic stage to be used as the third stage of GSLV made further progress during the year. The cryogenic engine which forms part of this stage, has already been successfully qualified. GSLV-Mk III, a new version of GSLV and capable of launching spacecraft weighing upto 4 tonnes to GTO is under development.

LAUNCHINFRASTRUCTURE
An elaborate launch infrastructure exists at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota Island on the East Coast of India which is about 100 km from Chennai. Sriharikota is located at 13$dG North latitude. From here, satellites can be launched into a variety of orbital inclinations starting from 18$dG and extending upto 99$dG. Full-fledged facilities for satellite integration, assembly and launch exist there. Sriharikota also houses a Telemetry, Tracking and Command network for tracking satellites and monitoring them. The newly built Second Launch Pad at SDSE SHAR as a redundancy to the existing launch pad, and to cater to the requirement of GSLV-Mk III as well as other future launch vehicles, was commissioned on 5 May 2005 with the successful launch of PSLV-C6.

SPACE-INDUSTRY CO-OPERATION
One of the important features of the Indian Space Programme since its inception has been the co-operative approach with the Indian industries. The Department of Space (DOS) has established linkages with about 500 industries in small, medium and large-scale sectors, either through procurement contracts, know-how transfers or provision of technical consultancy. Because of its association with the space programme, the space industry is now capable of meeting the challenges in terms of adopting advanced technologies or handling complex manufacturing jobs.

INTERFACE WITH ACADEMIC AND R&D INSTITUTIONS
The ISRO has an active programme to interact with academic and research institutions all over the country for the benefit of our space programme. In this regard, the Sponsored Research Programme (RESPOND) is an important component of DOS. Under RESPOND, DOS support research and educational activities at universities, individual colleges, and at the Indian Institutes of Technology as well as other research institutions. During the year 2005-2006, 13 projects were successfully completed and 62 new projects were initiated at 42 academic institutions comprising universities, colleges and research institutions. In addition to research projects, DOS supported 73 conferences, symposia, educational and promotional activities in the areas of importance to ISRO, besides providing support to ISRO-institutional chairs at reputed institutions.

INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION
From the days of its inception, ISRO has had a very good record of international cooperation. It has Memoranda of Understanding / Agreements with 26 countries / space agencies. A UN sponsored Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTE-AP) set up in India has trained more than 400 personnel of the Asia-pacific region. during the year, CSSTE-AP completed 10 years. In addition, ISRO provides training in space applications to personnel of developing countries through its Sharing of Experience in Space (SHARES) programme. ISRO has launched scientific payloads of other space agencies like Modular Opto-electronic Scanner of DLR, Germany that was flown on IRS-P3 spacecraft and the data is being shared by scientists of DLR, India and the US. It has a co-operative agreement with NASA / NOAA for the reception of meteorological data from INSAT spacecraft by those agencies.

Megha-Tropiques is a joint satellite mission of ISRO and French Space Agency CNES for atmospheric studies. The satellite will be built and launched by ISRO and CNES will develop two of the payloads and the third payload jointly with ISRO. At the same time, scientific instruments developed in the United States, Germany, Sweden, UK and Bulgaria will be launched on board India's Chadrayaan-1 spacecraft. This apart, an Italian scientific instrument will be included onboard India's OCEANSAT. 2 satellite. Instruments for astronomical observation jointly developed with Israel and Canada will be flown onboard India's GSAT-4 and RISAT satellites respectively. And, an Indian scientific instrument to study solar physics and solar-terrestrial sciences will be flown onboard Russia's CORONAS-PHOTON satellite.

India has also set up three local User Terminals and a Mission Control Centre for the international COSPAS / SARSAT programme for providing distress alert and position location service. A search and Rescue Transponder is included in INSAT-3A spacecraft. India is a signatory to the International Charter on Disaster Management and is providing remote sensing data for the same.

ANTRIX
Antrix, the commercial front of the Department of Space, is a single window agency for marketing Indian space capabilities. It is playing a key role in the worldwide availability or IRS data through Geoeye, USA. Antrix also provides IRS data processing equipment.

Antrix offers launch services using India's PSLV. Two German, one Korean and one Belgian satellites have already been successfully launched by PSLV. Through Antrix, Telemetry, Tracking and Command support from the Indian ground stations are offered. Similarly, lease of transponders from INSAT system is possible. In this regard, 11 transponders have already been leased to INTELSAT. Customers for the spacecraft components offered by Antrix include world's leading spacecraft manufacturers.

During the year, an agreement was entered into with EADS Astrium, Paris for the joint manufacture of 200 kg and 300 kg class satellite platforms for the telecommunications market. Besides, Antrix won contracts from Europe and Asia for launch services in the highly competitive international markets. After the successful development of a low cost, compact, modular and rugged Automatic Weather Station (AWS) in co-ordination with industry, the technology has been licensed to industry for regular production.

Thus, in addition to successfully developing spacecraft and launch vehicle technologies indigenously, India has also been successful in the application of satellite technology to benefit its national economy. At the same time, India has also been sharing space-based information with the international community and providing commercial space services globally.

ANCIENT OLYMPIC GAMES

ANCIENT OLYMPIC GAMESThe origin of the ancient Olympic Games is lost the midst of pre-history, but for many centuries they were only a festival of the Greek people. The Games were first held in honour of the Greek God, Zeus in 776 BC in the plain of kingdom of Elis, nestled in lush valley between the Alpheus River and Mount Kronion, 15 km from the Ionian Sea. The Olympiad celebrated that year was considered as the first and was used to date subsequent historic events. But religious ceremonies and games were held in Olympia before that time. The oldest sanctuary of Greece was there, the altar of the Great Mother of Gods, Rhea (Earth). On the day of the feast, the priest stood in front of the altar, ready to perform a sacrifice. Women were forbidden to be present and the male contestants were naked. Young men waited at a distance on one stadium (about 200 yds). As soon as a signal was given they ran and the first to arrive at the altar received the torch from the priest’s hand and lit the sacrificial fire

The old Olympiads were held after every four years and the Greeks measured time in terms of Games started on the first new moon after the summer solstice, around mid-July. The ancient Olympic Games lasted for five days and the events took place in a precise order. On the first day, there were sacrifices and opening ceremonies. On the second day there were special competitions for the “ephebians”. The third day was devoted to events for adult competitors: dromos, diaulos, dolichos, pugilism, wrestling, pancratium. On the fourth day, there were equestrian events, pentathlon, and race with arms. On the fifth and the final day, there were closing ceremonies and proclamation of the heroes. During the first six Olympic games, however, the prize had been a portion of meat or ‘meria’ taken from an animal sacrificed to the Gods. It was only after VII Games that the olive crown was given to the winners and the moral significance of the prize was considerable. Once the prizes were awarded, a flock of pigeons was releases to carry the names of the champions to all the corners of the Greece.

The Games came to a sudden end when the Roman Emperor Theodosius banned the competitions and their attendant sacrificial offerings as pagan manifestations. From 395 AD onwards the fall of Olympia was very rapid. In that year the first damage was caused by the invasion of Alaric’s barbarians. A year earlier the famous crysele-phantide statute of Zeus had been taken to Constantinople. It was destroyed in 475 AD during the great fire. Following the attacks of the Goths, a fire destroyed the temple of Zeus; earth quakes from 522 to 551 and the most severe of all in 580 brought down whatever had remained standing. Glory had vanished and of the vast riches there were now left but a few ruins and the name of Olympia. Something immortal remained, however, and that was the Olympic spirit.

MODERN OLYMPIC GAMESThe revival work of the Games was undertaken by Baron Pierre de Coubertin nearly 1,500 years after the last of the ancient Games. He was born into a family of Italian origin which had settled in France. It was on November 25, 1892, during a conference at Sorbonne about the history of physical exercises, that he first pronounced those famous six words in public “The Restoration of the Olympic Games”. He said that the games would ennoble and strengthen amateur sports, to give them strength and lasting quality for an essential role in the world of modern education.

It was at the International Congress for the for the Study of the Propagation of the Principles of Amateurism held in Paris in June 1894 that the delegates led by Baron Pierre de Coubertin and associates unanimously voted to restore the Olympic Games and to create an International Olympic committee to oversee them. De Coubertin had planned to propose Paris for the site of the first modern Olympics in 1900 but the enthusiasm and zeal of the delegates was so great that they insisted the first Games to be held in 1896. Athens was, there fore, the venue for the 1896 Games. Since then these Games are held very four years.The aims of the Olympic Movement are to promote the development of these fine physical and moral qualities which are the basis of amateur sports and to bring together the athletes of the world in a great quadrennial festival of sports. The honour of holding the Olympic Games is entrusted to a city ad not a country or area. The choice of a city for the celebration of an Olympiad is with the International Olympic Committee.

The XXII Olympic Games were held in Moscow from July 19 to August 3, 1980. Only 80 of the 140 member countries of the International Olympic Committee participated due to a Western-sponsored boycott of the Games. The XXIII Games were held in Los Angeles from July 28 to August 12, 1984. The Games were boycotted by the Soviet Union and other Eastern bloc countries except Romania because of security reason. The Games also saw the re-entry of China after an absence of 32 years. It was America’s year at the Games just as it was Russia’s year in the XXII Games in Moscow in 1980 when Americans had boycotted. The XXIV Games were held in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, form September 17 to October 2, 1988. The Soviet Union was the biggest medals winner of the Games which was participated by 160 countries. The XXV Games were held in Barcelona, the second largest city of Spain, in July August 1992. Athletes from 171 countries participated and Olympic medals were awarded to a record 64 nations, breaking the mark of 52 set at the 1988 Seoul Olympic.

The XXVI Modern Olympic Games were held in Atlanta (USA) from July 19 to August 4 in 1996. Over 10,000 athletes from 197 countries participated in the 26 sports and 37 disciplines. The Mascot of the Atlanta Olympics was a computer-generated creative called `Izzy’.

OLYMPIC SYMBOLIt comprises of five rings or circles, linked together to represent the sporting friendship of all people. The rings also symbolize the continents Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and America. Each ring is of a different colour, i.e., blue, yellow, black, green and red.

OLYMPIC FLAG The Olympic flag created in 1913 at the suggestion of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, was solemnly inaugurated in Paris in June 1914 but it was raised over an Olympic stadium for the first time at the Antwerp Games (Belgium) in 1920. There is also a second Olympic flag, which is used for the Winter Games. These Flags are made of white silk and contain five intertwined rings. From left to right the rings are blue, yellow, black, green and red. The rings are meant to represent five continents viz., Africa (black), America (red), Asia (yellow), Australia (green) and Europe (blue). At least one of these colours is found on the flag of every country.

OLYMPIC FLAMEIt was at the Amsterdam Games in 1928 that for the first time an Olympic flame was ceremonially lighted and burned in a giant torch at the entrance of the stadium. The modern version of the flame was adopted in 1936 at the Berlin Games. The Olympic flame symbolizes the continuity between the ancient and modern Games. The torch used to kindle the flame, is first lit by the sun’s rays at Olympia, Greece, and then carried to the site of the Games by relay of runners. Ships and planes are used when necessary. On July 15, 1976, space

age technology was used to transport the flame from one continent to another.

OLYMPIC MOTTO The Olympic motto is “Citius-Altius-Fortius” (faster, higher, stronger). Rev. Father Didon (1840-1900), headmaster of a school near Paris and a great promoter of sports in the French Catholic colleges near the end of the nineteenth century, first used the motto and had it embroidered on the pennants of his school clubs. This succinct definition of the philosophy of sport appealed to father Didon’s friend, Baron pierre de Coubertin who was responsible for the revival work of the Olympic Games nearly 1,500 yeas after the last of the ancient games. It was adopted at his suggestion at the International Congress for the “Study and Propagation of the Principles of Amateurism” on June 23, 1894, the same day on which the restoration of the Olympic Games and the creation of the International Olympic Committee were also decided.

OLYMPIC PRIZES, MEDALS AND CERTIFICATES While in ancient times the Olympic heroes received a crown of olive branches for their exploits, modern Olympic champions are rewarded with medals and certificates. The winning athlete now receives a gold medal, the athlete in the second place is awarded a Silver medal and the third placed athlete wins a Bronze medal. In addition, all athletes ranking from first to sixth receive a certificate. Each medal is 60 mm in diameter and 3 mm thick. The first and second place medals are made of 92.5 per cent silver and the medal for the first winner is then plated with 6 gram of fine gold. Thus this medal is not of full gold. The third place medal is of bronze.

IMPORTANT SPORTS VENUES

Athletics Commonwealth Stadium (Canada), Olympic Stadium (Athens), Stadium Australia (Sydney)

Baseball Brooklyn (USA), Dodger Stadium (USA), Qualcomm Stadium (USA), Veterans Stadium (USA).

Basketball Alamodome (Texas)D, Charlotte Coliseum (USA).

Boat Rowing Putney (England).

Boxing Madison Square Garden (USA), Yankee Stadium (USA).

Cricket Asgiriya Stadium (Kandy), Arbal-Niaz Stadium (Peshawar), Bangabandhu National Stadium (Dhaka), Barabati Stadium (Cuttack), Brabourne Stadium (Mumbai), Chinnaswamy Stadium (Bangalore), Eden Gardens (kolkata), Eden Park (Auckland), Ferozeshah Kotla Ground (Delhi), Gaddafi Stadium (Lahore), Green Park (Kanpur), Indira Priyadarshini Stadium (Visakhapatnam), Iqbal Stadium (Faisalabad), Jinnah Stadium (Gujranwala), Khettarama Stadium (Colombo), Lal Bahadur Stadium (Hyderabad), Leeds (London, England), Lords (London, England), M. A. Chidambaram Stadium (Chennai), Melbourne (Australia), National Stadium (Karachi), Nehru Stadium (Pune), Nehru Stadium (New Delhi), nehru Stadium (Goa), Old Trafford (Manchester, England), Oval (London, England), Pindi Stadium (Rawalpindi), Sabina Park (West Indies), Sawai Man Singh Stadium (Jaipur), Sinhalese Sports Club Stadium (Colombo), Trent Bridge (England), Wankhede Stdium (Mumbai), Wanderers (South Africa).

Football Ambedkar Stadium (New Delhi), Athens Olympic Stadium (Greece), Brookland (England), Corporation Stadium (Kolkata), Fed Ex Field (USA), Millennium Stadium (UK), Nehru Stadium (New Delhi), Oita Big Eye Stadium (Japan), Pontiac Silverdome (USA), Salt Lake Stadium (Kolkata), San Januario Stadium (Brazil), Veterans Stadium (USA), Wembley (London), Yokohama Internatioinal Stadium (Japan).

Golf Augusta National Club (USA), Lyon Golf Club (France), Metropolitan Club (Melbourne), Sendy Lodge (Scotland), Yangon Club (Myanmar).

Greyhound Racing White City (England).

Hockey Dhyan Chand Stadium (Lucknow), Lal Bahadur Stadium (Hyderabad), Merdeka Stadium (Kuala Lumpur), Major Dhyan Chand Stadium (formerly National Stadium, New Delhi), Nehru Stadium (New Delhi), Sawai Man Singh Stadium (Jaipur), Shivaji Stadium (New Delhi), Wagener Stadium (The Netherlands).

Horse Racing
Aintree (England), Doncaster (England), Epsom (England), Flemington (Melbourne).

Lawn Tennis: DLTA Grounds (New Delhi), Wimbledon (England), Forest Hill (USA).

Polo Hurlington (England), Jaipur Pologrounds.

Rugby Football Blackheath, Twickenham (England), Millennium Stadium (Cardiff, UK).

Shootng Bisley (England), Markopoulo Center (Athens).

Snooker Blackpool (England).

Swimming Subhas Sarovar (Kolkata), Talkatora Swimming Pool (New Delhi).

Swimming and Rowing: Cape Griz Zen Putney-Mort -Lake (England), Sleen Sports Complex (Australia).

Table Tennis
NDMC Indoor Stadium (New Delhi).

Tennis Foro Italico Stadium (Rome), Rolland Garros Stadium (Paris), Flushing Meadows (New York).