Every Sunday, I round up the Indian aerospace related news and present few of them here in this blog. This weeks editions
Recession and student trends
With the global recession hitting the Information Technology (IT) industry hard, there seems to be a heavy flow of students towards B.E./B.Tech. courses in mechanical and civil engineering this year. There is a run on seats in polytechnics too for diploma courses in mechanical and civil engineering. If students in the past few years preferred a degree in engineering to a medical degree, the situation has reversed now. Medical and paramedical courses, and also veterinary courses in Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University are in great demand.
Prof. Mannar Jawahar, Vice-Chancellor, Anna University, Chennai. , argued that India and China had not suffered as much as the U.S. in the current economic downturn.
MiG-23 become new lab rats
Russian-made MiG-23 fighter jets, phased out in March by the Indian Air Force (IAF) after nearly 30 years in service, haven’t entirely outlived their utility. The aircraft are being converted into laboratories and workshops for aeronautics students.
“Displaying the jet in the lab excites (students) than showing (it) on a computer,” says J. Chandrasekhar, chairman, department of aerospace engineering at Amrita School of Engineering near Coimbatore.
Teaching of aerospace or aeronautical engineering has advanced from textbook drawings and dummy models to three-dimensional computer graphics, but the course has for long been restricted mainly to the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and some Indian Institutes of Technology.
Over the past few years, though, increased demand for aeronautics engineers has encouraged several colleges to add the subject. In just the past three years, at least 20 colleges in Tamil Nadu have begun offering aerospace and aeronautics courses, says A.K. Natesan, chairman of Excel Engineering College in Tamil Nadu’s Namakkal district.
Indian space science to help in Mars exploration
“Earlier, several questions used to be raised on developing country like India getting into space science. But, our scientists have proved critics wrong and played a significant role in scientific advancements of the country,” Rao said, hailing the successful indigenous Indian space missions. “Today, we have reliable Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and Geo Stationary Launch Vehicle for launching our ownsatellites into space. These are used for communication, education, agriculture and other purposes. Indian space science has proved that we are second to none in the world.” U R Rao, Physical Research Laboratory's governing council & former chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
Read this beautiful account on what it means to go to moon.
Because our endeavours into outer space have given us more than just Teflon and Tang. It has given us water purification systems, smoke detectors, high density batteries, athletic shoes, flat-panel television sets, food packaging and freeze-dried technology. It has lead to the invention of self-righting life rafts, of the fire resistant material used by firefighters, and of radiation insulation. Earthquake prediction systems. Breast cancer detection. MRI machines. The portable X-ray.
