AstrotalkUK

Not for profit website/blog on astronomy, space and my writing

Vikram Sarabhai born on this day 1919

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Google commemorates 100th birth anniversary of Vikram Sarabhai

Widely regarded as the father of India’s Space programme, today marks the birth centenary of Vikram Sarabhai. India and ISRO will be marking this day with events in Ahmedabad and Bangalore. Google marked the day with a doodle.

A few interesting facts I came across during my research for the book The Indian Space Programme:

  • 1930 – He accompanied Gandhi on his Salt March to Dandi
  • 1935 – Got a letter of introduction to Uni of Cambridge from Rabindranath Tagore
  • 1942 – Married Mrinalini Swaminathan during a very low key ceremony at her home in Bangalore.
  • 1947 – Completed his PhD viva in Manchester England under scrutiny Nobel laureate Professor Patrick Blackett
  • 1950s Praful Bhavsar and UR Rao completed their PhD under Sarabhai
  • 1961 – Wrote to the Government of India proposing a space satellite programme for India
  • 1966 – When Bhabha suddenly, Sarabiz took over as Chairman of the DAE and secretary at the AEC, his first goal was to steer India away from Bhabha’s vision of an India with a nuclear bomb
  • 1969 – He signed the MoU with NASA Administrator to initiate the SITE programme which brought satellite TV in 1975 to rural villages in India

Chapter 7 in my book is on Vikram Sarabhai. The best-researched book about his life and work is – Vikram Sarabhai: A life by Amrita Shah.

Vikram Sarabhai Letter of recommendation for University of Cambridge

Episode 85 – Russia’s Space programme with Brian Harvey

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Brian Harvey

Brian Harvey is a Dublin based writer who has authored more than 14 books on space. His books have covered the space programmes of USSR/Russia, USA, India, Japan and China. He has a deep understanding of the motivations and politics as well as the space technology that has emerged since the space age. In this episode, we speak about Russia/USSR’s space programme what it was at the outset and its status today.

Some of the topics we discuss include

  • Russian rocket engines still the best in the world.
  • The first factory to build rocket engines for spacecraft was established in Leningrad in 1927.
  • Age profile in Russian space programme – not enough younger people. Compared to the programme in China which is largely less than 40.
  • In 1935 Konstantin Tsiolkovsky invited as a guest of honour at the mayday speech “I believe the first person in space is alive today”. This was in 1935 when Yuri Gagarin was one year old.
  • There were several reasons for the failure for the USSR not get a crewed mission to the Moon. The main one was the lack of programme management.
  • With 39 launches in 2018, China was the leader. Until a few years ago Russia was the world leader of launches. Russia’s planned 45 launches in 2019 is not realistic.
  • China, India and Japan were on par about a decade ago but China has now emerged with a “superpower” status. India has made progress in the number of annual launches, science missions and recently announced its plans to initiate a human space program.
    We discussed the movie Salyut 7 the movie. This is the space station that Rakesh Sharma had visited in 1984.
    Russia space programme, minimal new investment, an ageing workforce, reliability and quality control on a decline.

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Public talk at the British Interplanetary Society Thursday 29th November 2018

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BIS HQ – Arthur C Clarke House

Event – A talk about the Indian Space Programme – based around my 2017 book of the same title.
Date – 29 November 2018
Time – 19:00- 20:30
Address – British Interplanetary Society, Arthur C. Clarke House, 27-29 South Lambeth Road, London, SW8 1SZ  (Nearest tube – Vauxhall station on the Victoria Line)
Cost – £10 for non-members, book online  here 
More details – See the BIS website

The format is a standard – standup and talk using a powerpoint presentation with a Q&A.  Limited signed copies of the book will be available on the day.  Book reviews here.

Only a limited number of copies will be available on the day. If you do want to reserve a copy of the book in advance – please send an email (info@astrotalkuk.org). 

The BIS has been around since 1933 and has a fantastic library. If you have not visited before it is worth arriving 30 mins early and having a look at the space related display – tea and coffee are available for a small donation. 

Post event photos. Thanks to Geir Engene from BIS.

Full steam ahead for ISRO after a successful GSLV-MK3 launch

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  • Credit: ISRO

On Wednesday 14th November 2018, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully placed a 3.4-ton communication satellite GSAT-29 in orbit with the third launch (and the second developmental flight) of its heavy launch vehicle – GSLV-Mk3. This is a huge milestone for ISRO. 

This mission was critical for ISRO. Had it not been successful the impact would have had profound on it is immediate and near-term plans. In addition to taking a huge financial hit and loss of morale within the organisation, there would have been additional consequences.

  • ISRO has been building and launching satellites for almost 3 decades. But operational launchers  (PSLV and GSLV-MK2) do not have the capacity to launch heavy (more than 2.5 tons)  satellites. So has outsourced those launches to the European Space Agency’s  Ariane launcher. The successful launch of GSLV-Mk3 D2 mission means that India need not continue to rely on EAS’s Araian.
  • A mission review earlier this year increased the mass of  ISRO’s  Lunar Lander mission Chandrayaan-2. The increased mass is beyond the capacity of a PSLV or a GSLV MK2. The Chandrayaan-2 mission is scheduled for launch in January next year. Without this success, this key mission to the Moon would have been delayed indefinitely.
  • Another casualty could have been the 2022 timeline for the recently announced Human Spaceflight programme, Gaganyaan. In August, India’s Prime Minister announced India to launch a crewed spaceflight from India by 2022.

As a result of this mission, the GSLV MK3 will move from development (with D prefix) to an operational phase (with a C for continuous prefix)  from 2019. 

Geosynchronous Satellite (GSAT-29)  is a communication satellite that will provide high-resolution imagery, radio and digital communication for northern parts of India. Designed to operate for 10 years, the ISRO chairman announced that the launch was so precise, the extra fuel will extend the satellites lifetime to at least 12 years. In the near future, GSAT-29 will be joined by two more similar satellites to support the “Digital India” programme. A more detailed report of GSLV-Mk3-D@ mission from William Graham on Nasaspacflight.com

  • Credit: ISRO
  • Credit: ISRO
  • Credit: ISRO
  • Credit: ISRO
  • Credit: ISRO

If you missed the live stream of the pre-launch, launch and post-launch commentary – its here (all 90 minutes) on youtube.

Credit: ISRO