Anecdotes of Life

5 years ago, the Indian Space Research Organisation's Mangalyaan entered the Martian orbit, thus making India: the first country to achieve this feat in the first attempt. Mars Orbiter Mission (fondly known as MOM) was India's first interplanetary mission. With government approval in August 2012, launch in November 2013 and Mars Orbiter Insertion (MOI) in September 2014; the mission was completed in record time. To achieve this feat, ISRO overcame a number of challenges. The Launch PSLV C-25 Lift Off: Courtesy ISRO The MOM spacecraft was launched onboard PSLV C-25 on 5th November 2013. PSLV is the workhorse of ISRO hence it was chosen to launch the spacecraft. This meant placing the vehicle in an orbit around Earth and then subsequently increasing the apogee (highest point of the orbit) in various manoeuvres followed by Trans Mars Injection which placed the Mangalyaan on a 300-day journey to Mars. To achieve the required parameters for Trans Mars Injection the...

Starman in the Orbit They gave us a spaceman riding in the first space car listening to a new space anthem and all this while giving the mankind a taste of the sci-fi in real life. Elon Musk and the team launched the most powerful operational rocket with flying colours. Perfect liftoff, followed by the separation of the boosters which landed simultaneously giving goosebumps to half the world. The main core separated. The second stage burned thrice. Starman is finally on way to the asteroid belt on the glorified 'Billion-year Mars Trajectory'. All was well. No one will say that the hiccup of the landing of the main core made the mission a failure. Boosters Landing Though this may not be the best rocket as compared to the Saturn V. This is "reusable". All the three engines are to be recovered out of which 2 successfully done in the first flight. On top of it, 27 engines burned "together" as a family for more than 150 seconds without a...

There are some days which get etched in your memory. From a year earlier multiple memories were made and now a year hence here I am reliving and relishing the days.  I became a member of the Student Satellite Project in March 2016. But on this day I realised that I didn't just join a project, I joined a Family, I joined a Journey, I too have joined the Dream shared by hundreds. On 26th September 2016, Pratham - IIT Bombay's First Student Satellite was launched, taking along the dream of hundreds of students have worked in the team and making hundreds more to dream bigger.  Being a freshman in a room full of seniors having worked in the team, the excitement of the launch was high. But that was it we new team members were merely excited, the seniors, on the other hand, had a glow in their eyes. Their child whom they built was going to space. Their years of hard work and patience was finally paying off. When Pratham got separated from the PSLV and finally...