Wednesday, September 24, 2014

India makes history on first try as Mangalyaan enters Mars orbit



India’s Mars Mission : India created history on Wednesday, becoming the first country to successfully get a spacecraft into the Martian orbit on its maiden attempt.

Indian Space Research Organization’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft started orbiting the red planet at 7.47am, but it was only 12 minutes later —because of a time delay in radio signals travelling the 680 million km -- that scientists at Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network in Bangalore, could erupt in joy as Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood a happy witness.

For most of the time the main engine was firing — 20 of the 24 crucial minutes — MOM was hiding behind Mars, adding to the suspense.

The scientists had waited for more than 300 days as MOM journeyed on through space, but the last 54 minutes were virtually unbearable. For, it was during this period that the orbiter first reoriented itself and then fired its engine and thrusters for about 24 minutes to get into the Mars orbit.

Friday, September 5, 2014

Commemorative Stamps on Indian Musicians - 3rd September 2014.








 

India Post issued a set of eight Commemorative Stamps on Indian Musicians commemorating Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Ms. D.K. Pattammal, Ms. Gangubai Hangal, Pandit Kumar Gandharva, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan on 3rd September, 2014. The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee released stamps at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. India Post has issued eight separate sheetlets of all eight musicians containing nine stamps each in a sheetlet and a Miniature Sheet containing eight stamps.