Manmohan, Obama discuss global, regional issues

May 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Ahead of the first-ever strategic dialogue between their countries, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama had a telephonic conversation on Friday evening during which the two leaders discussed regional and global issues of mutual interest.

“The two leaders discussed the forthcoming strategic dialogue between the two countries scheduled next week in Washington,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, adding that both the sides attach great priority to the dialogue as a means to strengthen bilateral engagement on a wide range of issues including high technology trade, science and technology, civil nuclear cooperation, agriculture, human resource development, security and other strategic issues.

Foreign Minister S M Krishna will lead a high-level delegation comprising several Cabinet ministers to Washington where the strategic dialogue is scheduled from June 1 to 4. The US delegation would be headed by Krishna’s counterpart, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The other Cabinet ministers will have separate bilateral meetings with their respective counterparts. Amongst the items high on agenda is India’s request for removal of many of its scientific institutions belonging to the Department of Atomic Energy or Indian Space Research Organisation from an Entities’ List maintained by US authorities. Institutions included on this list require special authorisation to import dual-use high-technology items from the US.

The telephonic conversation between Singh and Obama comes just a day after the United States unveiled its National Security Strategy for this year that identified India as one of the “key centres of influence” and called for building a “strategic partnership” with New Delhi.

“The US and India are building a strategic partnership that is underpinned by our shared interests, our shared values as the world’s two largest democracies, and close connections among our people. India’s responsible advancement serves as a positive example for developing nations,,” the National Security Strategy document said.

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Gunbattle erupts at Indian space centre

March 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – A gunbattle broke out between two armed men and security forces outside a high security space center in southern India early on Tuesday, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said.

World

The gunbattle occurred in Byalalu, on the outkirts of IT hub Bangalore.

The Home (Interior) Ministry sees ISRO buildings as a high priority target for militants, and has beefed up security around them after warnings of possible attacks.

“Two people were seen moving in a suspicious manner outside our center,” ISRO spokesman S. Satish said.

“The police immediately challenged them, and they opened fire in retaliation. The shootout continued for some time before the two men fled.”

“The police is investigating. It is up to them to see whether it was a terror attack,” he added.

(Reporting by Habib Beary; writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani

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ISRO shootout not a terror act: Chidambaram

March 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Bangalore, Mar 16 (ANI): Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said the shoot out outside the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)”s Byalalu Centre did not look like a terrorist attack.

“There is not threat to ISRO. It is an amateurish attack,” said Chidambaram, adding that the Central Government has asked for ISRO security to be monitored properly.

A shootout took place between two unidentified men and security guards outside the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)”s Byalalu Centre, around 40 kilometers from Bangalore early on Tuesday morning.

The two youth were reportedly moving in a suspected manner outside the ISRO center around 3 a.m. and were attempting to get inside the campus. They opened fire on the security personnel, who approached them for questioning.

Around two rounds of fire were exchanged between the two sides.

The two suspects eventually escaped from the site.

ISRO officials are, however, not seeing it as a terrorist act, but said the fact that the two suspects were armed remained a matter of concern.

The state police have begun an extensive search to get hold of the two men. (ANI)

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Shootout outside ISRO campus

March 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Bangalore, Mar 16 (ANI): A shootout took place between two unidentified men and security guards outside the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)”s Byalalu Centre, around 40 kilometers from Bangalore early on Tuesday morning.

The two youth were reportedly moving in a suspected manner outside the ISRO center around 3 a.m. and were attempting to get inside the campus. They opened fire on the security personnel, who approached them for questioning.

Around two rounds of fire were exchanged between the two sides.

The two suspects eventually escaped from the site.

ISRO officials are, however, not seeing it as a terrorist act, but said the fact that the two suspects were armed remained a matter of concern.

The state police have begun an extensive search to get hold of the two men. (ANI)

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ISRO admits miscalculation of moon temperature led to Chandrayaan’s early termination

September 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Bangalore, Sep.7 (ANI): A senior official at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has candidly admitted that scientists miscalculated the temperature of the moon and that this had led to the early termination of the Chandrayaan-I mission last month.

Dr T K Alex, director, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, said: “We assumed that the temperature at 100km above the Moon’s surface would be around 75 degrees Celsius. However, it was more than 75 degrees and problems started to surface. We had to raise the orbit to 200km.”

In May, ISRO said it had raised Chandrayaan’s orbit to “enable further studies on orbit perturbations, gravitational field variation of the Moon and also enable imaging of the lunar surface with a wider swath”.

It now transpires that heating problems on the craft had begun as early as November 25, 2008, forcing ISRO to deactivate some of the payloads – there were 11 in all.

As a result, some of the experiments could not be carried out which raised questions on whether the pre-launch thermal vacuum test done on the spacecraft at the ISRO Satellite Centre in Bangalore was adequate.

In early 2009, the situation improved and Chandrayaan-1 started operating normally. However, the snags resurfaced. This time with the two star sensors of Chandrayaan because of high temperature. The sensors are crucial in determining the orientation of the craft in space.

The first star sensor packed up on April 26, and even the back-up sensor failed during the second week of May.

ISRO officials said scientists and engineers used ingenious ways to restore Chandrayaan-I by using gyroscopes as a temporary step.

The official said much before the official announcement of the project’s end on August 30, it had become clear that the two-year mission would be cut short since 95 percent of the scientific goals had been accomplished.

Although, ISRO claims that 95% of its planned experiments have been completed, it remains to be known whether payloads designed to operate at a 100-km orbit completed their missions. The issue has triggered a fierce debate on whether ISRO should have declared it a one-year mission right at the beginning rather than an ambitious two-year programme. (ANI)

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Home Secretary Pillai says Andhra CM’s missing chopper has crash-landed

September 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep.3 (ANI): Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai on Thursday said that the missing Bell chopper carrying Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajshekhera Reddy and four others had crash-landed about 40 nautical miles east of the Kurnool mountaineous area.

Pillai said that as of now he could not hazard a guess about whether there were any survivors or whether the chief minister and the people accompanying him were injured or had moved to another location.

He confirmed that the chopper was in a very damaged state.

The Home Ministry has ordered para-commandos to immediately airdrop themselves at the location to determine the exact physical status of Reddy and the four others. The para-commandos have landed.

The para-commandos have been told to report back immediately on the situation on ground.

“We have located the helicopter. It is on top of a hill at a distance of 40 nautical miles east of Kurnool. We are trying to find out whether there were any survivors. We are not sure whether the chopper crashed. Two Air Force helicopters are orbiting there trying to find a place to land, but because the chopper is on top of a hill, it’s a jungle it has been very difficult to land,” said an Army spokesperson adding that further details were awaited from the site.

The chopper is said to be located between Rudrakonta and Rollapenta near Kurnool town. Commandos, police and paratroopers are moving towards the area

Meanwhile, the core committee of the Congress party is meeting in New Delhi to assess the latest developments. The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, will convene a meeting of the Union Cabinet after the Congress meeting to decide on the next steps in the operation.

Earlier reports said The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) would conduct two fly-bys at 9.30 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. respectively with the help of CARTOSAT One and Two as part of their intensified search operations for missing Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy on Thursday.

State Government sources said that they have narrowed down the search to a five-square kilometer radius in the Nallamala Forest Range where they believe the seven-seat Bell helicopter carrying the chief minister may have gone down on Wednesday between 9 a.m. and 9.30 a.m.

Notwithstanding a heavy cloud cover, a three-pronged search operation has been launched. Four helicopters have taken off for the search. At least 700 villagers, bow and arrow wielding Chenchu tribals who are familiar with the terrain and former Naxals have reportedly joined in the search operations.

The State Government has refused to make any comment on the latest developments in view of the fact that there are conflicting reports with regard to the copter’s whereabouts. There is a lot of cross-checking being done to come up with verifiable facts.

Reddy”"”s chopper went missing while he was on his way from Kurnool to Chittoor.He was accompanied by his Principal Secretary S Subramanyam and Chief Security Officer A S C Wesley. There were two pilots also on board the twin-engined Bell 430 helicopter that lost contact with Air Traffic Control at the Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad when it was headed for Chittoor district, about 600 kilometres from Hyderabad.

ISRO chief G. Madhavan Nair and his team are monitoring a low flying remote sensing plane. Satellite images are being used to try and trace the place. So far, 41 images have been taken but none of them have revealed any information about the chief minister’s whereabouts.

As of now the Indian Government has said that it has not requested the United States for help in the matter, but has confirmed that the unmanned vehicle that is presently deployed in the north eastern part of the country is being kept on standby.

The Army, Indian Air Force (IAF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, Andhra Police Greyhound commandos along with local police and district officials has entered the Nallamalla Forests to launch the massive search and rescue operation for Reddy.

About 250 Army personnel with night vision devices have joined the search operations.

“We have deployed two columns and one Ghatak (jungle warfare specialist) platoon in the area for searching the Chief Minister. Our troops are equipped with night vision devices such as goggles and hand held thermal imagers,” Army officials said.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to arrive in Hyderabad shortly to be with Reddy’s anguished family members and to get a hand on assessment of the search operation.

She has already sent Union Law Minister and Congress general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs Veerappa Moily and Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chauhan to the city to monitor developments. Chauhan told press persons that the State and Central Governments are sparing no efforts to search for the chief minister.

Meanwhile, National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan has said that while both the state and central governments are extremely concerned and worried about the missing chief minister, all available resources are being deployed for the search.

He said Army and Air Force helicopters have been conducting a search of the region. He also confirmed that two fixed-wing Sukhoi 30 aircraft with synthetic aperture radar capabilities have been pressed into service.

Forces on the ground are also on the lookout for the missing helicopter and its individuals.

Narayanan said that the lack of communication is a major problem and also ruled out the probability of a Naxal strike.

“I don”"”t think the Naxals have the capability to bring down a helicopter,” he said.

“There is no question about calling off the search till we discover what happened there. We are hopeful we will find the Chief Minister, his chief secretary and PSO without serious injuries,” he added. (ANI)

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Home Ministry orders paratroopers to airdrop at copter location site

September 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep.3 (ANI): The Union Home Ministry has ordered paratroopers to immediately airdrop themselves at the location where the missing chopper carrying Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajshekhera Reddy and four others is stationed about 40 nautical miles east of the Kurnool mountaineous area.

The paratroopers have been told to report back immediately on the situation on ground.

A television channel report had earlier quoted an Air Force spokesperson as saying in Hyderabad that it was unclear whether the chopper had crashed and whether there were any survivors.

A local TV channel had earlier brought out unconfirmed information that some remains of what appeared to be the chopper had been traced.

“We have located the helicopter. It is on top of a hill at a distance of 40 nautical miles east of Kurnool. We are trying to find out whether there were any survivors. We are not sure whether the chopper crashed. Two Air Force helicopters are orbiting there trying to find a place to land, but because the chopper is on top of a hill, it’s a jungle it has been very difficult to land,” said an Army spokesperson adding that further details were awaited from the site.

The chopper is said to be located between Rudrakonta and Rollapenta near Kurnool town. Commandos, police and paratroopers are moving towards the area

Meanwhile, the core committee of the Congress party is meeting in New Delhi to assess the latest developments. The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, will convene a meeting to the Union Cabinet after the Congress meeting to decide on the next steps in the rescue operation.

Earlier reports said The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) would conduct two fly-bys at 9.30 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. respectively with the help of CARTOSAT One and Two as part of their intensified search operations for missing Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy on Thursday.

State Government sources said that they have narrowed down the search to a five-square kilometer radius in the Nallamala Forest Range where they believe the seven-seat Bell helicopter carrying the chief minister may have gone down on Wednesday between 9 a.m. and 9.30 a.m.

Notwithstanding a heavy cloud cover, a three-pronged search operation has been launched. Four helicopters have taken off for the search. At least 700 villagers, bow and arrow wielding Chenchu tribals who are familiar with the terrain and former Naxals have reportedly joined in the search operations.

The State Government has refused to make any comment on the latest developments in view of the fact that there are conflicting reports with regard to the copter’s whereabouts. There is a lot of cross-checking being done to come up with verifiable facts.

Reddy”"”s chopper went missing while he was on his way from Kurnool to Chittoor.He was accompanied by his Principal Secretary S Subramanyam and Chief Security Officer A S C Wesley.

There were two pilots also on board the twin-engined Bell 430 helicopter that lost contact with Air Traffic Control at the Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad when it was headed for Chittoor district, about 600 kilometres from Hyderabad.

ISRO chief G. Madhavan Nair and his team are monitoring a low flying remote sensing plane. Satellite images are being used to try and trace the place. So far, 41 images have been taken but none of them have revealed any information about the chief minister’s whereabouts.

As of now the Indian Government has said that it has not requested the United States for help in the matter, but has confirmed that the unmanned vehicle that is presently deployed in the north eastern part of the country is being kept on standby.

The Army, Indian Air Force (IAF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, Andhra Police Greyhound commandos along with local police and district officials has entered the Nallamalla Forests to launch the massive search and rescue operation for Reddy.

About 250 Army personnel with night vision devices have joined the search operations.

“We have deployed two columns and one Ghatak (jungle warfare specialist) platoon in the area for searching the Chief Minister. Our troops are equipped with night vision devices such as goggles and hand held thermal imagers,” Army officials said.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to arrive in Hyderabad shortly to be with Reddy’s anguished family members and to get a hand on assessment of the search operation.

She has already sent Union Law Minister and Congress general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs Veerappa Moily and Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chauhan to the city to monitor developments. Chauhan told press persons that the State and Central Governments are sparing no efforts to search for the chief minister.

Meanwhile, National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan has said that while both the state and central governments are extremely concerned and worried about the missing chief minister, all available resources are being deployed for the search.

He said Army and Air Force helicopters have been conducting a search of the region. He also confirmed that two fixed-wing Sukhoi 30 aircraft with synthetic aperture radar capabilities have been pressed into service.

Forces on the ground are also on the lookout for the missing helicopter and its individuals.

Narayanan said that the lack of communication is a major problem and also ruled out the probability of a Naxal strike.

“I don”"”t think the Naxals have the capability to bring down a helicopter,” he said.

“There is no question about calling off the search till we discover what happened there. We are hopeful we will find the Chief Minister, his chief secretary and PSO without serious injuries,” he added. (ANI)

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Andhra Pradesh CM’s missing chopper located near Kurnool

September 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Hyderabad, Sep.3 (ANI): The Army confirmed on Thursday morning that the Air Force has homed in on the missing chopper carrying Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajshekhera Reddy and four others about 40 nautical miles east of the Kurnool mountaineous area.

A television channel report quoted an Air Force spokesperson as saying it was unclear whether the chopper had crashed and whether there were any survivors.

A local TV channel had earlier brought out unconfirmed information that some remains of what appeared to be the chopper had been traced. The accessibility to the spot where the helicopter is difficult and will take some time to reach.

“We have located the helicopter. It is on top of a hill at a distance of 40 nautical miles east of Kurnool. We are trying to find out whether there were any survivors. We are not sure whether the chopper crashed. Two Air Force helicopters are orbiting there trying to find a place to land, but because the chopper is on top of a hill, it’s a jungle it has been very difficult to land,” said an Army spokesperson adding that further details were awaited from the site.

The chopper is said to be located between Rudrakonta and Rollapenta near Kurnool town. Commandos, police and paratroopers are moving towards the area

Meanwhile, the core committee of the Congress party is meeting in New Delhi to assess the latest developments. The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, will convene a meeting to the Union Cabinet after the Congress meeting to decide on the next steps in the rescue operation.

Earlier reports said The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) would conduct two fly-bys at 9.30 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. respectively with the help of CARTOSAT One and Two as part of their intensified search operations for missing Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy on Thursday.

State Government sources said that they have narrowed down the search to a five-square kilometer radius in the Nallamala Forest Range where they believe the seven-seat Bell helicopter carrying the chief minister may have gone down on Wednesday between 9 a.m. and 9.30 a.m.

Notwithstanding a heavy cloud cover, a three-pronged search operation has been launched. Four helicopters have taken off for the search. At least 700 villagers, bow and arrow wielding Chenchu tribals who are familiar with the terrain and former Naxals have reportedly joined in the search operations.

The State Government has refused to make any comment on the latest developments in view of the fact that there are conflicting reports with regard to the copter’s whereabouts. There is a lot of cross-checking being done to come up with verifiable facts.

Reddy”"”s chopper went missing while he was on his way from Kurnool to Chittoor. He was accompanied by his Principal Secretary S Subramanyam and Chief Security Officer A S C Wesley. There were two pilots also on board the twin-engined Bell 430 helicopter that lost contact with Air Traffic Control at the Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad when it was headed for Chittoor district, about 600 kilometres from Hyderabad.

ISRO chief G. Madhavan Nair and his team are monitoring a low flying remote sensing plane. Satellite images are being used to try and trace the place. So far, 41 images have been taken but none of them have revealed any information about the chief minister’s whereabouts.

As of now the Indian Government has said that it has not requested the United States for help in the matter, but has confirmed that the unmanned vehicle that is presently deployed in the north eastern part of the country is being kept on standby.

The Army, Indian Air Force (IAF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, Andhra Police Greyhound commandos along with local police and district officials has entered the Nallamalla Forests to launch the massive search and rescue operation for Reddy.

About 250 Army personnel with night vision devices have joined the search operations.

“We have deployed two columns and one Ghatak (jungle warfare specialist) platoon in the area for searching the Chief Minister. Our troops are equipped with night vision devices such as goggles and hand held thermal imagers,” Army officials said.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to arrive in Hyderabad shortly to be with Reddy’s anguished family members and to get a hand on assessment of the search operation.

She has already sent Union Law Minister and Congress general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs Veerappa Moily and Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chauhan to the city to monitor developments.

Chauhan told press persons that the State and Central Governments are sparing no efforts to search for the chief minister.

Meanwhile, National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan has said that while both the state and central governments are extremely concerned and worried about the missing chief minister, all available resources are being deployed for the search.

He said Army and Air Force helicopters have been conducting a search of the region. He also confirmed that two fixed-wing Sukhoi 30 aircraft with synthetic aperture radar capabilities have been pressed into service.

Forces on the ground are also on the lookout for the missing helicopter and its individuals.

Narayanan said that the lack of communication is a major problem and also ruled out the probability of a Naxal strike.

“I don”"”t think the Naxals have the capability to bring down a helicopter,” he said.

“There is no question about calling off the search till we discover what happened there. We are hopeful we will find the Chief Minister, his chief secretary and PSO without serious injuries,” he added. (ANI)

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ISRO to use CARTOSAT to search for missing Andhra CM

September 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Hyderabad, Sep.3 (ANI): The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will conduct two fly-bys at 9.30 a.m. and 10.30 a.m. respectively with the help of CARTOSAT One and Two as part of their intensified search operations for missing Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy on Thursday.

State Government sources said that they have narrowed down the search to a five-square kilometer radius in the Nallamala Forest Range where they believe the seven-seat Bell helicopter carrying the chief minister may have gone down on Wednesday between 9 a.m. and 9.30 a.m.Notwithstanding a heavy cloud cover, a three-pronged search operation has been launched. Four helicopters have taken off for the search. At least 700 villagers,bow and arrow wielding Chenchu tribals who are familiar with the terrain and former Naxals have reportedly joined in the search operations.

The State Government has refused to make any comment on the latest developments in view of the fact that there are conflicting reports with regard to the copter’s whereabouts. There is a lot of cross-checking being done to come up with verifiable facts.

Reddy”s chopper went missing while he was on his way from Kurnool to Chittoor.

He was accompanied by his Principal Secretary S Subramanyam and Chief Security Officer A S C Wesley.There were two pilots also on board the twin-engined Bell 430 helicopter that lost contact with Air Traffic Control at the Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad when it was headed for Chittoor district, about 600 kilometres from Hyderabad.

ISRO chief G. Madhavan Nair and his team are monitoring a low flying remote sensing plane. Satellite images are being used to try and trace the place. So far, 41 images have been taken but none of them have revealed any information about the chief minister’s whereabouts.

As of now the Indian Government has said that it has not requested the United States for help in the matter, but has confirmed that the unmanned vehicle that is presently deployed in the north eastern part of the country is being kept on standby.

The Army, Indian Air Force (IAF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, Andhra Police Greyhound commandos along with local police and district officials has entered the Nallamalla Forests to launch the massive search and rescue operation for Reddy.

About 250 Army personnel with night vision devices have joined the search operations.

“We have deployed two columns and one Ghatak (jungle warfare specialist) platoon in the area for searching the Chief Minister. Our troops are equipped with night vision devices such as goggles and hand held thermal imagers,” Army officials said.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to arrive in Hyderabad shortly to be with Reddy’s anguished family members and to get a hand on assessment of the search operation.

She has already sent Union Law Minister and Congress general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs Veerappa Moily and Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chauhan to the city to monitor developments. Chauhan told press persons that the State and Central Governments are sparing no efforts to search for the chief minister.

Meanwhile, National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan has said that while both the state and central governments are extremely concerned and worried about the missing chief minister, all available resources are being deployed for the search.

He said Army and Air Force helicopters have been conducting a search of the region. He also confirmed that two fixed-wing Sukhoi 30 aircraft with synthetic aperture radar capabilities have been pressed into service.

Forces on the ground are also on the lookout for the missing helicopter and its individuals. arayanan said that the lack of communication is a major problem and also ruled out the probability of a Naxal strike.

“I don”t think the Naxals have the capability to bring down a helicopter,” he said.

“There is no question about calling off the search till we discover what happened there. We are hopeful we will find the Chief Minister, his chief secretary and PSO without serious injuries,” he added. (ANI)

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Intensified search operations for missing Andhra CM resume

September 3, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Hyderabad/New Delhi, Sep.3 (ANI): Search operations for missing Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy resumed at first light on Thursday morning.

State Government sources said that they have narrowed down the search to a 20-square kilometer radius in the Nallamalla Forest Range where they believe the seven-seat Bell helicopter carrying the chief minister may have gone down on Wednesday at around 9.30 a.m.eddy’s chopper went missing while he was on his way from Kurnool to Chittoor.

He is accompanied by his Principal Secretary S Subramanyam and Chief Security Officer A S C Wesley. There were two pilots also on board the twin-engined Bell 430 helicopter that lost contact with Air Traffic Control at the Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad when it was headed for Chittoor district, about 600 kilometres from Hyderabad.

Indian Space Research Organisation chief G. Madhavan Nair and his team are monitoring a low flying remote sensing plane. Satellite images are being used to try and trace the place. So far, 41 images have been taken but none of them have revealed any information about the chief minister’s whereabouts.

As of now the Indian Government has said that it has not requested the United States for help in the matter, but has confirmed that the unmanned vehicle that is presently deployed in the north eastern part of the country is being kept on standby.

The Army, Indian Air Force (IAF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, Andhra Police Greyhound commandos along with local police and district officials has entered the Nallamalla Forests to launch the massive search and rescue operation for Reddy.

About 250 Army personnel with night vision devices have joined the search operations.

“We have deployed two columns and one Ghatak (jungle warfare specialist) platoon in the area for searching the Chief Minister. Our troops are equipped with night vision devices such as goggles and hand held thermal imagers,” Army officials said.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to arrive in Hyderabad shortly to be with Reddy’s anguished family members and to get a hands on assessment of the search operation.

She has already sent Union Law Minister and Congress general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs Veerappa Moily and Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chauhan to the city to monitor developments. Chauhan told press persons that the State and Central Governments are sparing no efforts to search for the chief minister.

Meanwhile, National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan has said that while both the state and central governments are extremely concerned and worried about the missing chief minister, all available resources are being deployed for the search.

He said Army and Air Force helicopters have been conducting a search of the region. He also confirmed that two fixed-wing aircraft with synthetic aperture radar capabilities have been pressed into service.

Forces on the ground are also on the lookout for the missing helicopter and its individuals. arayanan said that the lack of communication is a major problem and also ruled out the probability of a Naxal strike.

“I don’t think the Naxals have the capability to bring down a helicopter,” he said.

“There is no question about calling off the search till we discover what happened there. We are hopeful we will find the Chief Minister, his chief secretary and PSO without serious injuries,” he added. (ANI)

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Sonia Gandhi sends Moily, Prithviraj Chauhan to monitor Andhra CM search

September 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep.2 (ANI): Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked Union Law Minister and general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh Veerappa Moily and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chauhan to rush to Hyderabad to oversee the search and rescue operations for missing state Chief Minister Y.S. Rajshekhar Reddy.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has also joined in the search operation. Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has said that he has advised the Andhra Pradesh Government to conduct a ground search for Reddy through the night. Aerial search has been called off.

The Indian Air Force has deployed Sukhoi 30 fighter jets to conduct an air sweep of the area where the chief minister’s chopper is said to have landed due to inclement weather.

The decision to send Moily and Chauhan comes as the State Government sources said the CRPF, the Army and Special Forces would conduct their search on foot through the night till the chief minister is traced.

The defence personnel would move along the same route that the chief minister took, notwithstanding the inclement weather.

The Andhra Pradesh Government has separately set up 14 teams, each consisting of eight members (112 personnel), to search for Reddy.

Local villagers have also been provided with torches and other equipment to help in the search of an area that is dominated by Naxals.

The State Government has also asked the Central Government to provide it with an unmanned aircraft and all-weather Fokker aircraft for the search operation in the Nanamalla and Seer Sailam forest ranges.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has denied that the seven-seater Bell chopper was not air worthy. It said that the outdated certificate that a private channel accessed appeared on the DGCA web site. The DGCA says the copter is air worthy.

The State Government has also said that it will be giving a fresh update on the situation at 7 p.m.

The State Government said that bad weather, time constraints plus the dense forested area where the chopper may have landed is hampering rescue operations. It appealed to the general public to step in and help in the rescue operations along with the Indian Air Force and the Army.

The Congress party on Wednesday held an emergency press briefing here on the issue.

Party spokesman Manish Tewari told media persons that it is an evolving situation that is being closely monitored by the Central and State Governments, besides the Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

The party said that state government is handling a very sensitive situation as the copter is said to have landed somewhere in the forests between the three districts of Rayalseema, Prakasham and Chitoor.

Tewari said that every effort was being made to resolve the situation as quickly as possible given the limited time available. He said that four Indian Air Force helicopters, one MI8 and a Dhruv chopper have been pressed into the rescue operation.

Earlier, Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister K.Rosiah confirmed that the chopper carrying the Chief Minister had landed in a forest area and efforts were on to locate it.

Addressing a news conference in Hyderabad, Rosiah said: “All state and central forces are on alert. At the moment, we are still tracing the location of the missing chopper, which has landed in the forests in the Chitoor-Nellore area. We are finding a way to reach the place.”

Rosiah said the state government has alerted the Union Home Ministry about the missing chopper. He said that after 9.35 a.m., contact had been lost with the chopper carrying the chief minister.

Rosiah said that the Prime Minister’s office as well as the offices of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Defence Minister A.K. Antony are being kept posted about the latest developments.

He also issued an appeal to the public to contribute to the search effort.

Rosiah’s briefing came as Andhra Pradesh Police continues their search for the missing chopper.

Panic was created around Wednesday noon as Reddy was reported untraceable for nearly four hours.

Reddy was on his way to Chitoor, by chopper which initial reports said had made an emergency landing near Kurnool due to inclement weather.

The chopper took off at 8.45 a.m. for Chitoor and was scheduled to arrive here at 10.45 a.m, sources said.

The chopper was said to have landed in the middle of a thick forest, said to be affected by Maoist activities.

The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) confirmed receiving a message of the emergency landing of the chopper, but nothing thereafter.

Till now, no one has confirmed the movements of Reddy.

The Union Home Ministry is monitoring the search operations, as Kurnool is a Naxal affected area.

Air Traffic Control (ATC) sources said the chopper went off the radar due to heavy rains.

The CMO maintains there is no need to worry as the area has no mobile connectivity. (ANI)

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Doomed Chandrayaan-1 has already yielded useful data on Moon’s mineralogy

September 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, September 1 (ANI): The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) might have prematurely terminated the country’s first moon exploration mission after it lost radio contact with Chandrayaan-1 over the weekend, but the probe is already said to have yielded a treasure trove of useful data.

This suggestion comes from Carle Pieters, a planetary geologist at Brown University in Rhode Island, the principal investigator of the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), a NASA instrument on Chandrayaan-1.

Part of the M3 mission was to determine the distribution of elements and minerals on the moon’s surface, data that NASA had hoped would be useful for future manned missions to the moon or other planets.

Pieters says that before the probe prematurely ended, the M3 instrument had successfully completed a cursory global survey of mineralogy on the moon.

According to her, that first step was supposed to set the stage for higher-resolution mapping of the lunar surface.

“(But) even with the low-resolution data we have from the first phase, we have several new and completely unexpected discoveries,” National Geographic News quoted her as saying.

She did not give any information as to what those discoveries might be, as other scientists are still reviewing the data.

Expressing “enormous disappointment” at the early loss of Chandrayaan-1, she revealed that she and her colleagues were looking into a future flight of a duplicate M3 instrument.

“When you see fantastic results and taste success, it’s almost criminal not to plan for the future,” she said. (ANI)

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ISRO to launch Mars mission by 2013

September 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 31 (ANI):Indian Space research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madavan Nair said on Monday that India would launch a mission to Mars by 2013.

The ISRO has begun the preparations for sending a spacecraft to Mars.

Earlier on Aug 13 the Union Government sanctioned seed money of Rs 10 crore for Mars project, to carry out various studies on experiments to be conducted, route of the mission and other related details necessary to scale the new frontier.

On Sunday ISRO called off the maiden Lunar mission after Indian Deep Space Network at Byalalu near Bangalore lost control over the Chndrayaan -I spacecraft.

Though Chandrayaan- I was slated to be a two-year mission, Nair claimed that ISRO scientists have achieved nearly 95% of Chandrayaan’s scientific goals in less than a year. (ANI)

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ISRO formally calls off India’s first moon mission

September 1, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Panaji. Aug 31 (ANI): Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has formally called off Chandrayaan-1, India’s first moon mission, after it lost contact with the craft. ink with the Chandrayaan-1 craft broke down early on Saturday.

Talking to reporters here on Sunday, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said, “The net result is that the lunar has lost radio contact with the craft and we are not receiving any signal. So we had to terminate the mission with this sequence…we made all attempts but our attempts were not succeed.”

Nair claimed that though the moon mission terminated much before its two-year lifetime it was a great success.

“About 95 percent of the objectives of the scientific experiments have been completed and we have more than 70,000 images of the moon, especially the most critical regions are in our custody,” he added.

The 79-million dollar mission was launched amid national euphoria last October, putting India in the Asian space race alongside China.

A probe vehicle landed on the moon a month later and sent back images of the lunar surface.

But a critical sensor in the main craft, orbiting the moon, malfunctioned in July, raising fears that the two-year mission might have to be curtailed.

One of the mission’s main aims was to look for Helium 3, an isotope which is very rare on earth but could be an energy source in the future in nuclear fusion.

ISRO has plans to send a manned mission to space in four years’ time and eventually on to Mars. (ANI)

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India’s first moon mission Chandrayaan-I “definitely over”, says project director(Lead: Chandrayaan-I)

August 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Bangalore, Aug 29(ANI): India’s ambitious moon mission — Chandrayaan-I — came to an abrupt end on Saturday after losing radio with the spacecraft.

“The mission is definitely over. We have lost contact with the spacecraft. It (Chandrayaan-1) has done its job technically…100 per cent. Scientifically also, it has done almost 90-95 percent of its job,” said M Annadurai, Project Director of the Chandrayaan-1 mission.

However, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair said scientists will evaluate the performance of the mission over the next two days before deciding whether or not to call it off.

Earlier, in the day the flamboyant spacecraft had lost the radio control at around 1.30 a.m. IST, increasing fears of a premature end of the spacecraft.

According to a press release by the ISRO, the deep Space Network at Byalalu near Bangalore has not received any signal form the spacecraft since midnight.

“Radio contact with Chandrayaan-I spacecraft was abruptly lost at 0130 Hrs (IST) on August 29, 2009. Deep Space Network at Byalalu near Bangalore received the data from Chandrayaan-I during the previous orbit upto 0025 Hrs (IST),”the press release states.

The ISRO has ordered for a detailed review of the data received by the spacecraft, “Detailed review of the Telemetry data received from the spacecraft is in progress and health of the spacecraft subsystems is being analysed,” press release states.

Earlier, on July 17, the flamboyant moon mission Chandrayaan-I, had lost a major sensor. The scientific community then feared the premature end of the spacecraft.

The Chandrayaan-I, which was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh in October 2008, has completed over 350 days in orbit making more than 3400 orbits around the Moon and providing large volume of data from sophisticated sensors.

The spacecraft was equipped with Terrain Mapping Camera, Hyper-spectral Imager, Moon Mineralogy Mapper etc.,

The ISRO scientists expressed confidence of attaining most of the scientific objectives of the mission.

Addressing the Ninth convocation of the International Institute of Information and Technology at Bangalore last month, Nair said the tracking and detection of several factors by Chandrayaan are important steps in mapping the mineralogical composition of moon’s surface, which in turn would enable further study in its origin and evolution.

“I think I am happy to say that Chandrayaan has been completely successful in collecting all the data what we wanted. First was the three dimensional of the lunar surface, also getting the mineral content of the surface and then trying to use the extra instruments,” said Nair.

“All this went on very well and we are more or less very happy that the mission is complete,” he added.

Nair also added that the second moon mission would be launched by 2012. (ANI)

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India’s first moon mission may be over, says project director

August 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Bangalore, Aug 29 (ANI):India’s ambitious moon mission — Chandrayaan-I — has probably ended after losing radio contact since Saturday noon, said its project director M. Annadurai, but Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair said scientists will evaluate the performance of the mission over the next two days before deciding whether or not to call it off.

Earlier, in the day the flamboyant spacecraft had lost the radio control at around 1.30 a.m. IST, increasing fears of a premature end of the spacecraft.

According to a press release by the ISRO, the deep Space Network at Byalalu near Bangalore has not received any signal form the spacecraft since midnight.

“Radio contact with Chandrayaan-I spacecraft was abruptly lost at 0130 Hrs (IST) on August 29, 2009. Deep Space Network at Byalalu near Bangalore received the data from Chandrayaan-I during the previous orbit upto 0025 Hrs (IST),”the press release states.he ISRO has ordered for a detailed review of the data received by the spacecraft, “Detailed review of the Telemetry data received from the spacecraft is in progress and health of the spacecraft subsystems is being analysed,” press release states.

Earlier, on July 17, the flamboyant moon mission Chandrayaan-I, had lost a major sensor. The scientific community then feared the premature end of the spacecraft.

The Chandrayaan-I, which was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh in October 2008, has completed over 350 days in orbit making more than 3400 orbits around the Moon and providing large volume of data from sophisticated sensors.

The spacecraft was equipped with Terrain Mapping Camera, Hyper-spectral Imager, Moon Mineralogy Mapper etc.,

The ISRO scientists expressed confidence of attaining most of the scientific objectives of the mission.

Addressing the Ninth convocation of the International Institute of Information and Technology at Bangalore last month, Nair said the tracking and detection of several factors by Chandrayaan are important steps in mapping the mineralogical composition of moon’s surface, which in turn would enable further study in its origin and evolution.

“I think I am happy to say that Chandrayaan has been completely successful in collecting all the data what we wanted. First was the three dimensional of the lunar surface, also getting the mineral content of the surface and then trying to use the extra instruments,” said Nair.

“All this went on very well and we are more or less very happy that the mission is complete,” he added.

Nair also added that the second moon mission would be launched by 2012. (ANI)

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Indian origin scientist finds tropical storms endure over wet land, fizzle over dry

August 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, August 27 (ANI): A scientist of Indian origin from Purdue University, in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, has determined in a new research that tropical storms endure over wet land, and fizzle when conditions are dry.

More than 30 years of monsoon data from India showed that ground moisture where the storms make landfall is a major indicator of what the storm will do from there.

If the ground is wet, the storm is likely to sustain, while dry conditions should calm the storm.

“Once a storm comes overland, it was unclear whether it would stall, accelerate or fizzle out,” said Dev Niyogi, Indiana state climatologist and associate professor of agronomy and earth and atmospheric sciences.

“We found that whether a storm becomes more intense or causes heavy rains could depend on the land conditions – something we’d not considered. Thus far we’ve looked at these storms based mainly on ocean conditions or upper atmosphere,” he added.

Niyogi said tropical storms gain their strength from warm ocean water evaporation.

“The same phenomenon – the evaporation from the ocean that sustains the storms – could be the same phenomenon that sustains that storm over land with moisture in the soil,” he said.

“The storm will have more moisture and energy available over wet soil than dry,” he added.

Storm data fed into a model showed that higher levels of ground moisture would sustain Indian monsoon depressions.

The model’s prediction was proven when compared to ground conditions for 125 Indian monsoons over 33 years, where storms sustained when the ground was wet at landfall.

Knowing the sustainability of a storm could lead to better predictions on flooding and damage inland before a monsoon or a hurricane makes landfall.

“We think the physics is such that we could see similar results more broadly, such as in the United States,” Niyogi said.

Niyogi said the next step is to use the model and ground moisture data to test these theories for hurricanes in the United States. (ANI)

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Manmohan Singh inaugurates Indian Institute of Space and Technology

August 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 26 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said that he was confident the department of Space and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) would meet all challenges effectively.

Inaugurated the Indian Institute of Space and Technology located at Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday through video conferencing, he said that he was truly proud of the remarkable achievements of the department of Space and the ISRO.

“Exploring the new frontiers of space technology aimed at low cost access to space, development of heavy lift boosters to launch heavier satellites, realising high power and high bandwidth communication satellites and remote sensing satellites with all weather capability are some of these challenges. I am confident these challenges will be met and dealt effectively,” he added.

He also said that the awards ceremony was a fitting tribute to the legacy of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and other eminent space scientists like Dr. Satish Dhawan.

He opined that Dr. Sarabhai was not just the father of India’s space programme but an intellectual giant, a visionary and a great institution builder. (ANI)

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India’s Chandrayaan-1 and NASA join hands to search for water on the moon

August 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, August 26 (ANI): A joint collaboration between India’s Chandrayaan-1 and NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which are orbiting the moon, could turn up evidence for valuable lunar water.

Some scientists suspect water ice, which would be a precious resource for future explorers, may be trapped in permanently shadowed craters at the moon’s poles.

Water ice can be distinguished from other materials by the way its radar echoes vary according to the position of the listener.

In 1994, the US Clementine spacecraft bounced radar signals off the moon and found hints of the water-ice signature.

But, it listened for the reflections jointly with a radio observatory on Earth, and getting unambiguous evidence for water requires more closely spaced listening posts.

According to a report in New Scientist, a recent joint experiment involving the US and Indian space agencies has provided a unique opportunity to get that data.

“It’s a unique experiment that can only be conducted by two spacecraft in orbit at the same time,” said Jason Crusan of NASA headquarters in Washington, DC.

On August 20, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Chandrayaan-1 were manoeuvred to within a few dozen kilometres of each other, which required close communication and coordination between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Once in proper formation, Chandrayaan-1 fired its radar beam at a crater near the moon’s north pole, while both spacecraft listened for the echoes.

Crusan said that scientists were still analyzing the data to make sure the experiment worked, but added that both spacecraft were in the right positions at the right time for it to go as planned.

This is probably the only time the two spacecraft will perform this kind of joint radar measurement, since LRO will soon move to a lower orbit than Chandrayaan-1 in order to begin its main observing phase.

But last week’s experiment marks a new level of space cooperation between the US and India.

“I hope this is a sign of the future for how we will do cooperative exploration,” Crusan said. “I think it’s a good first step,” he added. (ANI)

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ISRO announces launch of Oceansat-2 in September

August 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Coimbatore, Aug 25 (ANI0: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch Oceansat-2, a unique integrated satellite to track marine life and identify potential fishing zones in September.

This was disclosed by Y V N Krishnamurthy, Director of ISRO’s Regional Remote Sensing Service Centre here on Monday.

The integration of the satellite, designed to identify potential fishing zones, assists in forecasting marine trends and coastal zone studies will also provide inputs for weather forecasting and climate studies.

Krishnamurthy said that all pre-launch tests on the functional aspects of the satellite have been successfully completed.

“We are launching a satellite called Oceansat-2 based on the ocean colour and the wind vectors. This scatterometer, which gives us, the wind vectors will provide information on where the fish potential zones are and how these are moving. In a dynamic situation also, the fishermen can get the advisories from the remote sensing information,” he added.

Oceansat-2 would blast off on board India’s indigenous workhorse, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota located on the Indian east coast.

This satellite will be an in-orbit replacement to Oceansat-1, which was launched by ISRO in May 1999 to study physical and biological aspects of oceanography.

Oceansat-2 would carry an Ocean Colour Monitor (OCM) and a Ku-band pencil beam Scatterometer – for the first time, besides a Radio Occultation Sounder for Atmospheric Studies (ROSA). (ANI)

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