Posted by admin on Jul 16, 2009 in
General
Washington, July 16 (DPA) Space shuttle Endeavour blasted off Wednesday on its sixth attempt to launch since June, headed to the International Space Station to expand Japan’s Kibo module.
The seven-member crew is to deliver an outside porch on the module at the station to expose scientific experiments to the extremities of space.
The mission has suffered a slew of delays that kept the craft on the ground for weeks longer than planned.
A planned Sunday launch was cancelled due to storms and a Saturday launch was also scrubbed due to lightning the night before that struck the launch pad, but spared the shuttle itself.
On Monday, stormy weather again grounded the spacecraft.
NASA was forced to postpone the launch twice in just four days last month, after technicians detected hydrogen gas leaks during fuelling, just hours before scheduled liftoff.
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Posted by admin on Jul 8, 2009 in
General
New Delhi, July 7 (ANI): Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Tuesday said that Rajya Sabha member Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan will be appointed as a member of the commission.
“Dr K Kasturirangan has to be appointed as member of the Planning Commission but he has not been appointed formally so far because he has to resign as Rajya Sabha member for the purpose,†said Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
Dr. Kasturirangan was responsible for directing the Indian Space programme for over 9 years, as Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Space Commission and as Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Space, before retiring on August 27 2003.
He was earlier the Director of ISRO Satellite Centre, overseeing the development of new generation spacecraft, the Indian National Satellite (INSAT-2) and the Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS-1A and 1B) as well as scientific satellites.
He was also the Project Director for India’s first two experimental earth observation satellites, Bhaskara-I and II.
Dr. Krishnaswamy is also a recipient of the three civilian awards from the Government of India, the Padma Shri (1982), Padma Bhushan (1992) and Padma Vibhushan (2000). (ANI)
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