THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Indian space programme took off in 1963 with the launch of a Nike-Apache sounding rocket gifted by the Americans. Come October, you will get a chance to relive that experience. The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) will conduct special launches of its sounding rockets for the public as part of the World Space Week-2015 celebrations in October.
The launches will be conducted on October 7, 8 and 9 from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station of the VSSC at Thumba.
On October 7, the launch will be at 2.45 pm and on the other two days, at 11.45 am. WSW, which is an annual event, commemorates the launch of the first man-made satellite, Sputnik, on October 4, 1957, and the signing of the treaty on exploration and peaceful use of space on October 10, 1967.
ISRO units in the city will celebrate WSW from October 4 to 10, with various events including essay, painting and quiz competitions for students along with lectures and seminars. India’s space agency has been using a variety of sounding rockets for studying the atmosphere with rocket-borne instrumentation. Since the launch of the first sounding rocket in November 1963, the VSSC has launched more than a thousand sounding rockets- mostly of the Rohini series- from Thumba. Registration has commenced for the lectures planned in colleges during the WSW celebrations, VSSC said.
The registration is also open for the painting competitions to be held in Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Kozhikode. The painting competition will be held on September 27, the quiz contest on October 3 and lectures from October 4 through 10. For details, call 0471-2565656 or visit wsw.vssc.gov.in