Recently I went to Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) to attend the World Space Week activities. This year’s theme was “Exploring Mars, Discovering Earth”. We took the VSSC bus to move to the venue from the front gates after getting our passes and completing the security check.
We first went to the place where the weather balloon was about to be launched. This is used in the measurement and evaluation of mostly upper atmospheric conditions. When the balloon was launched, cheers rose from the people around. Then we moved on to the control centre, where we saw the altitude of the balloon plotted against the time taken. The time remaining for the launch of the rocket was also visible in the display there. Since there was ample time, we went for a stroll and also enjoyed some cool drinks from a nearby canteen before going to the rocket launch pad.
The rocket was small in size, and after takeoff, it let out a resonating sound and soared across the sky. Soon it was out of sight. The crowd let out a deafening roar on seeing the successful launch.
Then we took a bus to the space museum in the campus. There we saw pictures and details of Vikram Sarabhai, the founder of VSSC. We also saw different models of satellites and space probes among other things. We also watched an interesting documentary about the achievements of ISRO.
After an unforgettable experience, we returned home.
Arjun Manivannan, IV, Christ Nagar International School, Thiruvananthapuram
