THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The three-day space camp organised jointly by UL Space Club, Kozhikode, and Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology at Kerala Arts and Crafts Village, Kovalam, concluded with a visit to Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) on Wednesday. The camp members, 62 students from Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Alappuzha, witnessed a live rocket launch from Thumba.
The visit to VSSC marked the culmination of a camp that imparted knowledge and practical experience in space and science. “I did not want to blink my eyes, for fear of missing the launch,” said Nila K S, a camp member from Cherthala. “It rose up at unbelievable speed and disappeared as a dot in the sky!” she said, after witnessing the launch of RH 200 sounding rocket in Rohini series.
The students were delighted to see the rocket launch and the laboratories at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology. The children also visited the laboratories of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST).
The camp was part of the expansion of the UL Space Club, one of the social responsibility initiatives of the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society, from Kozhikode to other parts of the state.
The closing ceremony was inaugurated by former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair.