[tgs]

I have a better idea...Why don't TOB or anyone that thinks India and/or China are worse off now then they were 25 years ago, find some reputable article stating that....At present I am far to busy.

Again, I'm not suggesting India and China are worse off. I'm suggesting that having a space program is a result of better economic conditions and those conditions are improving China and India not the space program.

[Slonopotam845]

Perhaps we should be concentrating on the things we can or should be solving for our wellbeing on this planet, rather than dreaming of other worlds and adventures elsewhere. Personally I think manned space exploration is a political diversion that the general public are only too willing to follow in order to escape the realities closer to home.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


Or perhaps more to the point, this sense of pessimism and lack of ambition will I I suggest, be our ultimate dangers. I believe that only a sense of optimism and continued forward progress can solve our current (and possible future) problems. We must find our destiny in diversity and continue forward rather than meekly await some dismal future.
Time will see us eventually striding into the cosmos.

[Peptobismol]

We must find our destiny in diversity and continue forward rather than meekly await some dismal future.

surely if space travel is our destiny it will happen irrespective of how hard we try...

[NeroASERCH]

I have a better idea...Why don't TOB or anyone that thinks India and/or China are worse off now then they were 25 years ago, find some reputable article stating that....At present I am far to busy.

You so miss the point BC .
No one said they were worse off , but you specifically said that their space programme helped the caste system , well you should be able to give a reason why you said that. That or qualify your post as simply an opinion or gut feeling.
Boundless enthusiasm , destiny , because we can , imagination , and the like are not reasons to justify a substancial slice of a very small pie.

[Drugmachine]

The simple fact is that India's space program has little to do with improving the lot of average and poor Indians, it's about demonstrating technological superiority over Pakistan.

Facts???..No
Whatever the reasons, the facts are India and China are far better off today then they were 25 years ago.
The Space program has been responsible for at least a greater part of that.

[Fegasderty]

surely if space travel is our destiny it will happen irrespective of how hard we try...

Yes when the Emperor said to Luke join the dark side of the force, it is your destiny, I don't think he meant Luke had to maintain optimism and work hard to get to the dark side.

[doctorzlo]

The simple fact is that India's space program has little to do with improving the lot of average and poor Indians, it's about demonstrating technological superiority over Pakistan.

Not sure if one upmanship was the motivator , rather defence?
Then again it would have been a welcome bonus ?

[S.T.D.]

You so miss the point BC .
No one said they were worse off , but you specifically said that their space programme helped the caste system , well you should be able to give a reason why you said that. That or qualify your post as simply an opinion or gut feeling.
Boundless enthusiasm , destiny , because we can , imagination , and the like are not reasons to justify a substancial slice of a very small pie.

So they are better off?? That's what I said. The caste system is a part of that.
No, I didn't miss the point.

[Lt_Apple]

>>We must find our destiny in diversity and continue forward rather than meekly await some dismal future.

[TorryJens]

Not sure if one upmanship was the motivator , rather defence?
Then again it would have been a welcome bonus ?

Well basically India-Pakistan is a smaller version of the Cold War, one upmanship in the hope of proving defence.

[Ifroham4]

So they are better off?? That's what I said. The caste system is a part of that.
No, I didn't miss the point.

That is not what I said.
How on Earth could you get that conclusion?

[Big A]

It is not a question of meekly awaiting some dismal future, it is about doing something about it, rather than an airy fairy attitude that something will turn up to solve all our problems.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

India are improving there lot with the space program....in mapping, topology, weather forecasting, agriculture and food/crop planting etc

[TorryJens]

For what ever reason that India commenced a space industry [and really it does not matter] it will and has benefited the population overall and will continue to do so.
Both India and China will probably be the world superpowers in another 50 years or so.






>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

India: From Ferrying Rockets on Cycles to Eyeing Mars
by Staff Writers
Chennai, India (IANS) Sep 10, 2012

Ferrying 27 foreign satellites till date, ISRO Sunday would carry a 715 kg French satellite (heaviest foreign payload to be carried by an Indian rocket) and a 15 kg Japanese micro satellite signalling the increased confidence in the space agency's rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).



From the days of having a church as control room, the bishop's house as office, a bicycle as ferry, naked eyes to track the smoke plume at Thumba in Kerala, converting a toilet into a satellite data receiving centre in Bangalore, the Indian space odyssey has come a long way to launching lunar probes, working on a Mars mission and ferrying foreign satellites up for a fee.

On Sunday, ISRO will touch a major milestone, the 100th space mission with the launch of two foreign satellites.

"During those days infrastructure was not available and we used what was available. In Bangalore we even converted a toilet into a data receiving centre for our first satellite Aryabhata," U.R. Rao, former chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told IANS.

Today India is reckoned as a serious emerging player in the global satellite launch and manufacturing industry and the market leader in vending images sent by its remote sensing/earth observation satellites.

Ferrying 27 foreign satellites till date, ISRO Sunday would carry a 715 kg French satellite (heaviest foreign payload to be carried by an Indian rocket) and a 15 kg Japanese micro satellite signalling the increased confidence in the space agency's rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

The space agency has also jointly built two heavy satellites - 3,453 kg W2M and 2,541 kg Hylas - for the French agency EADS Astrium.

India's high point in its space odyssey was its moon mission in 2008 when it launched Chandrayaan-1 and Chandrayaan-2 is slated for 2014. The government has also sanctioned a mission to Mars which is expected to happen next year.

But the achievement that ISRO started notching up in rocket and satellite launches since 1990s were due to the trials and tribulations that the ISRO's founding fathers underwent.

Though ISRO has been flying sounding rockets (experimental rockets) from Thumba since 1963, its efforts to launch a rocket with a heavier payload actually started with Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3) in 1980.

However by that time ISRO had already built and launched two satellites - 358 kg Aryabhata and 444 kg Bhaskara-1.

"Starting from the scratch was the challenge before us while we began the Aryabhata project. Majority of the team members were new to this field. The time given was just two and half years so that it could be flown in a Russian rocket. Building clean room, thermo vacuum room and other facilities were all new," recalled Rao.

After Bhaskara-1 the Indian space agency built the APPLE communication satellite laid the ground for the INSAT series satellites possessing multiple capabilities - telecom, television, meteorological and imaging.

"Building the four-in-one satellite was a challenge. While we designed the INSAT-1A satellite it was made by Ford Aerospace and was launched by an American rocket. The satellite had a short life," Pramod Kale, the first project director for INSAT now retired, told IANS.

Success started smiling at ISRO from INSAT-1B onwards which according to Rao ushered in communication revolution in India.

There was no looking back for the space agency on the satellite side. From one tonne satellites, the INSAT series started growing in weight to become three tonne and ISRO later started making satellites for others.

Meanwhile scientists at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram, were initially toiling to get the rocket right as the SLV and Augmented SLV (ASLV) missions gave mixed results.

"The two ASLV failures were the real test beds for perfecting the PSLV rocket. Issues like rocket tumbling, monitoring of rocket's main forces, detailed profiling of wind and other issues were done," S.C. Gupta, former director of VSSC, told IANS.

The third ASLV with Stretched Rohini Satellite Series (SROSS) turned out to be successful but the result of the first PSLV flight in 1993 was negative owing to a software error, which was later sorted out.

Since then there was no looking back for ISRO as far as PSLV rocket is concerned. The space agency has now three PSLV variants.

"As technology was not available we developed our own navigational systems, propellent and all the elements of the launch vehicle with help of Indian industry," Gupta recalled.

But the serious issue before ISRO now is perfecting the technology for its heavier rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) so that heavy communication satellites can be launched.

"The challenge before ISRO is to perfect its own cryogenic engine that would power the final stages of GSLV rocket. Otherwise the rocket has the same reliability like PSLV," B.N. Suresh, former director of VSSC and now retired, told IANS.

[Paul Bunyan]

B.C. could you please supply the link to the article you have posted in post 52 of this thread.

thankyou in advance

[radikal]

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=I...ient=firefox-a

http://www.spacedaily.com/

http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Ind..._Mars_999.html

[Raj_Copi_Jin]

B.C. could you please supply the link to the article you have posted in post 52 of this thread.

thankyou in advance

Sorry joey, too much on my plate today!

Thanks be to jj.

[MannoFr]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/wo...ng-travel.html

[Big A]

Aww isn't that nice.

[Paul Bunyan]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/wo...ng-travel.html

"...........

The visa requirements have been strict in the past because of suspicions on each side. Among other changes, the agreement will exempt travelers over 65, children under 12 and businessmen from reporting to the police during their travels. ........"

wow ... so does that apply to tourists from other countries too ? anybody know ?

thankyou jj for that link..

[softy54534]

Sorry joey, too much on my plate today!

Thanks be to jj.

thx jj.

B.C. could you please post the link to the original source of any articles you link to in future.
thx .