Foreign countries are keenly watching the development of launch vehicle technology in Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) which has made notable achievements in aerospace technology, S. Ananthanarayanan, Director, National Physical Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), has said.
Inaugurating the seventh national seminar on ‘‘Aerospace and Related Mechanisms (ARMS 2010)'' hosted by the Thiruvananthapuram chapter of the Indian National Society for Aerospace and Related Mechanisms (INSARM) here on Friday, Mr. Ananthanarayanan said that precision and reliability should be the buzz words of research and development activities. These are the absolute necessities for aerospace operations. Setting up of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) was a welcome step in this score. The institute would help to hone the skills of young scientists to work with precision, he said.
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) Director P.S. Veeraraghavan, in his presidential address, said after the launch of sounding rockets in the sixties, great strides had been made during the past four decades. A lot more challenges were awaiting aerospace technology. Aerospace engineers were perfect designers and high reliability was the key to all developments, he said.
VSSC Associate Director (Projects) N. Narayanamoorthy in his address on ‘‘Advances in aerospace mechanisms and mechatronics'' said limited opportunity for maintenance, difficult environment for rectification and testing on ground were some of the challenges faced in the designing process. Ensuring control of projects and identifying potential hazards were some of the options to overcome the challenges. He stressed the need for developing highly reliable systems by combining mechanical, electronics computer science and all other allied fields of engineering. INSARM founder president M.K. Abdul Majeed traced the evolution of society. IIST director B.N. Suresh released the seminar proceedings. John P. Zachariah, Associate Director (Projects), VSSC, released the souvenir.
INSARM president George Koshy welcomed the gathering and organising secretary B. Sivasubramonian proposed a vote of thanks. The seminar will conclude on Saturday. The next seminar will be held in Hyderabad.
