The Indian Space Programme
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[64]. WikiLeaks. 1973. Von Braun in India 10–23 May. Retrieved from https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1973STATE080529_b.html
[65]. Kalam, A. P. J. Abdul and A. Tiwari. 1999. Wings of Fire: An Autobiography. Universities Press. P48.
[66]Chapter 2
. Kochhar, R. 13 September 2014. Transits of Venus and Modern Astronomy in India. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/rajeshkochhar1/transits-of-venus-and-modern-astronomy-in-india
[67]. The nation that sent men to the Moon is unquestionably scientifically literate, but it is also a deeply religious one. In a survey on ‘average frequency of prayer by country’, India came out on top. Some traditions may just be too hard to let go. Many national events and personal choices, including of those who would describe themselves as scientifically literate, are still based on mysticism, superstition and astrology. Pickel, Gert. 2012. Religion Monitor: Understanding Common Ground – An International Comparison of Religious Belief. Gütersloh, Germany: Bertelsmann Stiftung. P23. Also, following the launch of PSLV PSLV-C12, ISRO skipped PSLV-C13 and went on to PSLV-C14. http://www.dnaindia.com/scitech/report-superstitions-and-beliefs-of-indian-space-scientists-1915176
[68]. There is some uncertainty around the exact dates when Indus civilisations prevailed. Traditionally considered to have been around between 2500-1700 BCE, a new study using carbon dating results suggests it may be 2500 years older (5000-1500 BCE). http://www.nature.com/articles/srep26555
[69]. Both of the following examples are real! (1) Prior to the launch of India’s first mission to Mars, the ISRO chairman visited a temple to make his offering. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Isro-chief-seeks-divine-help-for-Mars-mission/articleshow/25238936.cms. (2) Equally bewildering is the online innovation onlineprasad.com, which is apparently very popular. If you are too busy to attend a religious event in a temple in person, you can do it via a proxy online. Services offered include Quick Darshan, Prasad, Devotion and Pooja with the option of prasad, poster and text of the recited prayer delivered to your home by courier. The latter is a perfect example of how science is used to support and facilitate ancient ritual and is accepted without question.
[70]. With the help of the USSR, ISRO launched to Earth orbit its first satellite on 19 April 1975.
[71]. Kochhar, R. K. 1991. The Growth of Modern Astronomy in India, 1651-1960. Vistas in Astronomy. Volume 34: 69–105.
[72]. Eclipses and transits are alignments of the Moon or planets with the Sun. A solar eclipse occurs when the Earth, Moon and Sun line up and the Moon appears for several minutes in exactly the same place in the sky as the Sun. Transits occur when Mercury or Venus line up with the Sun. Over a few hours, the small silhouetted disc of Mercury or Venus moves across the face of the Sun. Transits of Mercury occurred on 9 November 1848, 12 November 1861, 5 November 1868, 6 May 1878, 8 November 1881 and 10 May 1891. Only those in 1861 and 1868 were fully visible from India.
[73]. Kochhar, Rajesh. 1989. The Transit of Mercury 1651: The Earliest Telescopic Observations in India. Indian Journal of History of Science 24 (3): 186–92.
[74]. Ibid.
[75]. Deccan Herald. 25 March 1986. Astronomical Discovery Made in India in 1689. http://docrchive.com/document/astronomical-discovery-made-in-india-in-1689-7308221412759902/
[76]. Astronomical observatories were first established in Europe in the 17th century—the Paris Observatory in 1667, Greenwich Observatory, London, in 1675 and Berlin Observatory in 1688.
[77]. Even though historian Rajesh Kochhar asserts that the “Madras Observatory had been established as an aid to Trigonometrical Survey of India”, it had been established about a decade prior to the start of the GTS. The GTS gave it a new lease of life. Kochhar, R. 13 September 2014. Transits of Venus and Modern Astronomy in India. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/rajeshkochhar1/transits-of-venus-and-modern-astronomy-in-india
[78]. Markham, Clements. 1871. A Memoir on the Indian Surveys. London: W.H. Allen and Co. P238.
[79]. Markham’s memoir is a comprehensive source of information on places, people and events involved in establishing the astronomical observatories in India. Markham, Clements. 1871. A Memoir on the Indian Surveys. London: W.H. Allen and Co. P102.
[80]. Kochhar, R. K. 1991. The Growth of Modern Astronomy in India, 1651-1960. Vistas in Astronomy. Volume 34: 69–105.
[81]. Kochhar, Rajesh. 2014. Madras Observatory - President International Astronomical Union Commission 41: History of Astronomy. http://rajeshkochhar.com/tag/madras-observatory/.
[82]. Kochhar, Rajesh. 2014. Madras Observatory - President International Astronomical Union Commission 41: History of Astronomy. Retrieved from http://rajeshkochhar.com/tag/madras-observatory/.
[83]. Proper motion of a star is the actual motion of a star through the cosmos, not just the apparent motion as seen from the Earth as it moves from one end of its orbit to another. This was the first time that technology was sufficiently accurate to confirm that the fixed stars were not really fixed. This technique only works for stars relatively close to the solar system. The vast majority of the stars visible in the night sky are too distant for this technique.
[84]. Narlikar, Jayant V. 2003. The Scientific Edge: The Indian Scientist from Vedic to Modern Times. Penguin Books.
[85]. Taylor, Glanville. 1839. Astronomical Observations Made at the Honourable East India Company’s Observatory at Madras. For the Years 1836 and 1837. Second edition. IV volumes. Madras, India.
[86]. With each new instrument comes the prospect of making unexpected revelation. The invention of the telescope in the early 17th century led to the discovery that other planets had moons, atmospheres that changed with the season and surface features, such as mountains and craters. The advent of radio astronomy resulted in one of the most profound discoveries of the 20th century, the Cosmic Microwave Background. Swarup, Govind. 2010. Great Discoveries Made by Radio Astronomers during the Last Six Decades and Key Questions Today. Pontificiae Academiae Scientiarvm Acta 21. November. P88. Retrieved from http://www.casinapioiv.va/content/dam/accademia/pdf/acta21/acta21-swarup.pdf
[87]. Rao, N. K., A. Vagiswari and C. Birdie. 2014. Charles Michie Smith – Founder of the Kodaikanal (Solar Physics) Observatory and Beginnings of Physical Astronomy in India. Current Science 106 (3): 447–67. An interesting aside: C.V. Raman’s observation of what is now known as the Raman Effect was observed by two Russian scientists a week earlier. Again, speed of publication was key. Kochhar, Rajesh. 18 February 2014. Rise and Decline of Modern Science in India. Oration. Indira Gandhi Prize for Science Popularization of Indian National Science Academy.
[88]. Rao, N. K., A. Vagiswari and C. Birdie. 2014. Charles Michie Smith – Founder of the Kodaikanal (Solar Physics) Observatory and Beginnings of Physical Astronomy in India. Current Science 106 (3): 447–67.
[89]. Aughton, Peter. 2012. The Transit of Venus: The Brief, Brilliant Life of Jeremiah Horrocks, Father of British Astronomy. Reprint edition. Lancaster: Carnegie Publishing Ltd. P106.
[90]. The original manuscript with instructions for observing the Transit of Venus on 6 July 1761 sent by the Directors of the East India Company to the Royal Society is available here: https://royalsociety.org/~/media/Royal_Society_Content/exhibitions/transit-venus/manuscripts/MM_10_106_p1.jpg.
[91]. Hirst, William. 1761. An Account of an Observation of the Transit of Venus over the Sun, on the 6th of June 1761, at Madras. Philosophical Transactions (1683–1775), 52 (1761–1762): 396–398. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/105639.pdf
[92]. Pasachoff, J. M., G. Schneider and L. Golub. 2004. Explanation of the Black-Drop Effect at Transits of Mercury and the Forthcoming Transit of Venus. Proceedings IAU Colloquium 196: 242–53.
[93]. Sen, Joydeep. 2015. Astronomy in India, 1784–1876. Routledge.
[94]. Kochhar, Rajesh. 1995. Astronomy in India: A Perspective. New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy.
[95]. Ibid.
[96]. The actual numbers vary and depend o
n several factors—the relative positions of the Moon and Earth in their respective orbits (the Moon’s orbit around the Earth is an ellipse and so is the Earth’s orbit around the Sun), the altitude and latitude of the observer and the time of the year.
[97] . Rao, N. K., A. Vagiswari and C. Birdie. 2014. Charles Michie Smith – Founder of the Kodaikanal (Solar Physics) Observatory and Beginnings of Physical Astronomy in India. Current Science 106 (3): 447–67.
[98]. All large modern telescopes are built on mountain tops, including Giant Magellan Telescope in Chile, Southern African Large Telescope in South Africa, W. M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea in Hawaii and the Gran Telescopio Canarias in Spain. To get above the atmosphere, telescopes are best placed in space, like the Hubble Space Telescope. In India, Kodaikanal was the second, not the first, mountain-top observatory to be sanctioned. Captain W. S. Jacob (1813–1862) had established a small observatory in Poona before serving 11 years as the Director of the Madras Observatoryfrom 1848 onwards. A recognised authority on double stars, Jacob had raised￡1,000 from the British Parliament to build a larger observatory at 5,000 feet altitude in Poona. But he died in India eight days after returning from Britain to commence his project. The observatory was never built, giving Kodaikanal Observatory the distinction of being the first mountain-top observatory in India. For more, see Chattopadhyaya, Debi Prasad. 1999. History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization: Pt. 1. Science, Technology, Imperialism and War. New Delhi: Pearson Education India. P364
[99]. Hassan, S. S., D. C. V. Malik, S. P. Bagare and S. P. Rajaguru. 2010. Solar Physics at the Kodaikanal Observatory: A Historical Perspective. In Hassan, S. S. and R. J. Rutten (Eds). Magnetic Coupling between the Interior and Atmosphere of the Sun. Springer. P17.
[100]. Ibid.
[101]. Ibid.
[102]. Anderson, Robert S. 2010. Nucleus and Nation: Scientists, International Networks, and Power in India. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. P37
[103]. Kochhar, Rajesh. 1995. Astronomy in India: A Perspective. New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy. This is a well-researched paper that provides details on these and other Indian observatories.
[104]. Kochhar, R. K. 1991. The Growth of Modern Astronomy in India, 1651-1960. Vistas in Astronomy. Volume 34: 69–105. P92
[105]. Markham, Clements. 1871. A Memoir on the Indian Surveys. London: W.H. Allen and Co. P213.
[106]. Ibid.
[107]. Although eclipses (of the Moon and Sun) occur annually somewhere on the Earth, transits of Mercury and especially Venus are rare. Further, these events are localised and are not visible from everywhere on the Earth. For the dates of all the transits of Mercury and Venus from 1000 BC to AD 4000, visit http://www.projectpluto.com/transits.htm
[108]. Kochhar, Rajesh. 1995. Astronomy in India: A Perspective. New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy. P15
[109]. Vallina, Agust’n Ud’as. 2003. Searching the Heavens and the Earth. The Netherlands: Springer Science & Business Media. P178.
[110]. Rao, N. K., A. Vagiswari and C. Birdie. 2014. Charles Michie Smith –Founder of the Kodaikanal (Solar Physics) Observatory and Beginnings of Physical Astronomy in India. Current Science 106 (3): 447–67.
[111]. Vallina, Agust’n Ud’as. 2003. Searching the Heavens and the Earth. The Netherlands: Springer Science & Business Media. P179.
[112]. Times News Network. 11 March 2014. 150-Year-Old St Xavier’s College’s Observatory Restored. The Times of India. Retrieved from http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/150-year-old-St-Xaviers-Colleges-observatory-restored/articleshow/31811293.cms
[113]. Rao, N. K., A. Vagiswari and C. Birdie. 25 May 2011. “Early Pioneers of Telescopic Astronomy in India: G.V. Juggarow and His Observatory”. Current Science 100(10). Retrieved from http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/100/10/1575.pdf.
[114]. Chattopadhyaya, Debi Prasad. 1999. History of Science, Philosophy and Culture in Indian Civilization: Pt. 1. Science, Technology, Imperialism and War. New Delhi: Pearson Education India. P366
[115]. Interview of the president of the Bangalore Astronomical Society with the author in 2013. It offers an overview of the spread of popular astronomy in India. See http://astrotalkuk.org/2013/11/17/bangalore-astronomical-society/
[116]. Abbott, B. P. et al. 12 February 2016. Observation of Gravitational Waves from a Binary Black Hole Merger. Physical Review Letters 116, 061102. Retrieved from https://physics.aps.org/featured-article-pdf/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.061102
[117]. Mehta, Nikita. 3 December 2014. India Joins the Thirty Meter Telescope Project as a Full Member. Livemint. Retrieved from http://www.livemint.com/Politics/ZtRszyDDxMd4BSVFsx7swI/India-joins-the-Thirty-Meter-Telescope-project-as-a-full-mem.html
Chapter 3
[118].It has now been replaced with “Harness space technology for national development, while pursuing space science research and planetary exploration.”
[119]. For a review of the updated ISRO website by the author in January 2015, visit: http://astrotalkuk.org/2015/01/04/isro-website-review/
[120]. Edgerton, David. 1996. The White Heat Revisited: The British Government and Technology in the 1960s. Twentieth Century British History. 7 (1): 53–82. P56.
[121]. Blackett, Patrick. 1953. D-2004-00200-110 (1-6) 31/3/53, Canberra Australia -Text of Presentation. Rich Countries Are Getting Richer. TIFR Archives.
[122]. A copy of the 12th and previous FYPs for the Department of Science and Technology is available here: http://www.dst.gov.in/about-us/twelveth-five-year
[123]. Ministry of Science and Technology. 2011. Working Group Report for the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17). New Delhi: Government of India, Ministry of Power. http://planningcommission.gov.in/aboutus/committee/wrkgrp12/wg_power1904.pdf
[124]. Mallick, Sambit. n.d. Building Scientific Institutions in Colonial India: Societies and Associations. NPTEL – Humanities and Social Sciences – Science, Technology and Society. Retrieved from http://www.nptel.ac.in/courses/109103024/pdf/module5/SM%20Lec%2026.pdf
[125]. 2004, Salam, A. "it is the lack of this contact with others that is the biggest curse of being a scientist in a developing country". A special publication to mark the 40th anniversary of the "Abdus Salam international centre for theoretical research. Retrieved form http://users.ictp.it/~pub_off/books/100_reasons.pdf P30
[126]. Ibid
[127]. Out of the 109 members present at the first meeting, 28 were British, 34 were Hindus, and 47 were Muslims. Retrieved from http://aligarhmovement.com/Institutions/scientific_society.
[128]. Anderson, Robert S. 2010. Nucleus and Nation: Scientists, International Networks, and Power in India. Chicago; London: University of Chicago Press. P258.
[129]. Lourdusamy, J. 2004. Science and National Consciousness in Bengal, 1870-1930. New Delhi: Orient Longman. P5.
[130]. Singh, Rajinder. 2013. The “Forgotten” Astronomical Society of India, Calcutta. Science and Culture 79 (9–10). Retrieved from http://www.scienceandculture-isna.org/sept-oct-2013/07%20Art_The_Forgtn_Astrnmcl_Soc._of_Ind._by_Rajinder%20Singh_Pg.369.html/index.html
[131]. Astronomical Society of India. 1911. The Journal of the Astronomical Society of India 1 (7; Session 1910-1911): 160
[132]. Astronomical Society of India. 1912. The Journal of the Astronomical Society of India 2 (7): 222
[133]. Astronomers using an Earth-based telescope were able to image two planets in the process of formation in the constellation of Taurus. Krol, Charlotte. 19 November 2015. Astronomers Share First Images of New Planet in Formation. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/12004990/Astronomers-share-first-images-of-new-planet-in-formation.html
[134]. Astronomical Society of India. 1910. The Journal of the Astronomical Society of India. Volume 1 (Issue 6): 131
[135]. The Lovell Telescope is operated by the University of Manchester. Bernard Lovell had been assigned to work on the British radar programme to detect enemy aircraft during World War II. In a r
adar system, a radio transmitter sends out a radio signal, and a receiver picks up a faint reflection from a passing aircraft. The strength of the signal and timing characteristics were sufficient to identify the location, speed and direction of the aircraft. While developing this system, Lovell had received spurious radio signals but was unaware of their source. After the War, using surplus equipment, he investigated the mysterious signals and confirmed that the ionised molecules of air reflected his radar signals just as aircraft did. The first time he switched on the experimental equipment in Manchester was on 14 December 1945. This happened to coincide with the annual Geminid meteor shower. Lovell, B. 1968. The Story of Jodrell Bank. Oxford University Press. P3.
[136]. ASI Correspondence. 1 March 1914. Volume 4. P126.
[137]. Report of the meeting of the society held on Tuesday, 25 June 1912, P223.
[138]. Report of a meeting of the society held on Tuesday, 28 February 1911, P107.
[139]. The website of ASI’s Public Outreach and Education Committee: http://astron-soc.in/outreach/