Indin satellite to find origin of universe

[alokmohan]

BANGALORE, India (AFP) - India's space agency placed an Italian satellite in orbit Monday, bolstering the South Asian nation's efforts to win a slice of the billion-dollar global launch market. <br /><br />ADVERTISEMENT<br /> <br />The India-made Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) put the Agile astronomical satellite into its intended orbit about 550 kilometres (325 miles) above the earth 20 minutes after blast-off.<br /><br />It was India's first commercial space mission and the rocket's 11th flight. "It's a historic moment for the entire space community: an Italian satellite being placed in precise orbit by a totally Indian-built vehicle," Indian Space Research Organisation chief G. Madhavan Nair said on state-run TV.<br /><br />"We have proven the reliability of the PSLV, its cost-effectiveness and given on-time delivery," he added from Sriharikota spaceport, 80 kilometres (50 miles) from Chennai in southern India.<br /><br />Leaving behind a massive trail of orange and white smoke, the rocket blasted off on schedule at 3:30 pm local time (1000 GMT).<br /><br />"I'm really proud to be here today," Giovanni Bignani, the head of the Italian space agency, said on Indian television.<br /><br />"This marks a new era of cooperation between Italy and India," he added, while praising the professionalism of Indian space scientists.<br /><br />The 352-kilogramme (774-pound) Italian astronomical satellite will be used to gather information about the origins of the universe.<br /><br />India wants to compete with the United States, Russia, China, the Ukraine and the European Space Agency in offering commercial satellite launch services, a market worth up to 2.5 billion dollars a year.<br /><br />For Monday's launch, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which runs India's space programme, is charging 11 million dollars, the Press Trust of India has reported. Space agency officials have confirmed the fee is close to that figure.<br /><br />"The launch itself is a matter of minutes but

 

[3488]

It goes to show how reliable Indian rocket technology has become, to get a customer like this.<br /><br />Alokmohan, you must be proud of this achievement.<br /><br />Well done India.<br /><br />India WILL develop human spaceflight for sure.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[docm]

Yup <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br />I'd love to see an Indian-US manned mission using both spacecraft types some day. Don't even care if it's NASA or private.<br /><br />If you can't tell I'm enthusiastic about an Indian manned space program. I've worked with and known many people from that nation, encompassing the major demographic groups, and have been impressed by their easy ways, hospitality etc., not to mention their pastries <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>