National Remote Sensing Agency becomes an ISRO Centre

Considering the importance of the activities carried out in the area of aerial and satellite remote sensing, the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), an autonomous society under Department of Space (DOS) has been converted into a full-fledged Government organisation called National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) from today (September 1, 2008).

NRSA was established as a registered society under the Department of Science & Technology in 1974 with the objective of undertaking and facilitating remote sensing activities in the country. The administrative control of NRSA was transferred to the Department of Space during early eighties and with the growth of indigenous efforts in space borne remote sensing, NRSA played a major role in the ground segment under the Indian Remote Sensing Programme. NRSA, through its training establishment Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Dehra Dun, has become an institution of international repute for capacity building.

It is expected that, with the conversion, NRSC will, as part of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), fully integrate with other ISRO Centres in the development and operations of the ground segment of the large constellation of India Remote Sensing Satellites and will also take a bigger role during the R&D phase of IRS programme.

NRSC as a Government entity, is expected to fulfill its goals playing a major role in important national programmes, through linkages with all concerned Government departments/agencies such as Ministries of agriculture, water resources, urban development, Home Affairs, etc., including the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Dr V Jayaraman has been appointed as Director, National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad and he took charge from Dr K Radhakrishnan, the out-going Director.

Dr Jayaraman holds a Bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering from University of Madras, Master of Science in electrical engineering from IIT, Madras and a Doctorate in Physics from Bangalore University. He is recognised for his contributions in the areas ranging from spacecraft systems engineering to applications development and positioning of policies & regulatory framework for integrating the high technology inputs into national development. Dr Jayaraman has brought coherence amongst technology, research and applications of direct relevance to Earth science.

Dr. Jayaraman is a fellow of institution of Electronics and Telecommunications Engineers, Fellow of Indian Geophysical Union, Member of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Indian Society of Geomatics and Astronautical Society of India.


The prime objective of ISRO is to develop space technology and its application to various national tasks. ISRO has established two major space systems, INSAT for communication, television broadcasting and meteorological services, and Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) system for resources monitoring and management. ISRO has developed two satellite launch vehicles, PSLV and GSLV, to place INSAT and IRS satellites in the required orbits

About ISRO.

Indian space programme driven by vision of Dr Vikram Sarabhai considered as the father of Indian Space Programme.


"There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the moon or the planets or manned space-flight. But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society. "

Government of India set up Space Commission and Department of Space (DOS) in June 1972. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) under DOS executes Space programme through its establishments located in different places in India.
Main objective of space programme includes development of satellites, launch vehicles, Sounding Rockets and associated ground systems.
Crossed several major milestones.
Experimental phase included Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE), Satellite Telcommunication Experiment (STEP), remote sensing application projects, satellites like Aryabhata, Bhaskara, Rohini and APPLE and launch vehicles, SLV-3 and ASLV.
Present operational space systems include Indian National Satellite (INSAT) for tele-communication, television broadcasting, meteorology and disaster warning and Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS) for resources monitoring and management.
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) used for launching IRS Satellites and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), intended for launching INSAT class of satellites.
Space Science activities include SROSS and IRS-P3 satellites, participation in international science campaigns and ground systems like MST Radar.
ISRO's co-operative arrangements cover several countries and space agencies.
ISRO provides training in space field to personnel from other countries.
ISRO's hardware and services available commercially through Antrix Corporation.

Other Related Sites
Indian Space Science Programme
Research Sponsored by ISRO (RESPOND)
CHANDRAYAAN - 1
ISRO-GEOSPHERE BIOSPHERE PROGRAMME(GBP)
ISRO Satellite Centre - KANNADA Website
Development and Educational Communication Unit (DECU)
Regional Remote Sensing Service Centres (RRSSC)
National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS)
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC)
Space Applications Centre (SAC)
National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC)
Physical Research Laboratory (PRL)
National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL)
Antrix Corporation Limited
Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS)
Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in the Asia Pacific region (CSSTE-AP)
National Informatics Centre (GISTNIC)
Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL)
Meteorological and Oceanographic Satellite Data Analysis Center (MOSDAC)
Indian Government Portal

Good-bye, Large Hadron Collider. Hello, Black Mesa.

Good-bye, Large Hadron Collider. Hello, Black Mesa.
That's the reader's choice in Wired Science's Large Hadron Collider Renaming Contest, announced last week to fill the vast gulf between the LHC's scientific magnificence and utterly wonky name.
Since then, an electrical problem has shuttered the mammoth atom smasher until 2009 -- making Black Mesa, a reference to the bestselling computer game Half Life, a timely choice. It won't take long for delays and malfunctions to sour the public on their $8-billion Large Hadron Collider, but Black Mesa sounds scary and intimidating, like a leaked government project. Criticize it, and you'll end up on a watch list.
Black Mesa was submitted separately by Brian Reed and DSA. Finishing second was the Chuck Norris Roundhouse Kick Simulator, submitted by Anonymous. Among my favorite also-rans were Master Blaster Atom Smasher; Atom Smasher +5, Holy Avenger; What Willis Was Talking About; The Big Banger; and The Thing We Play With When We Aren't Playing Warcraft.
All these entries are better than the winner of the Royal Society of Chemistry's winner: Halo.
The least-favorite choice in our contest was The Blesser, submitted by Vincenzo Maggio. Its sheer unpopularity was likely due to its religious overtones, but at this point, the LHC can use a bit of help, divine or not.

It's time to find something else to blame for all the recent strange occurrences in your life: The Large Hadron Collider, which had become a favorite culprit for everything from lost keys to lost jobs, will remain shut down until spring.
On Sept. 18, the news from CERN, the organization that runs the LHC, was that an electrical problem involved with a cooling system caused a helium leak that would keep the mammoth particle accelerator out of commission for a day or so. A couple of days later, the estimate had stretched into two months: The machine would need to be warmed back up, which will take three to four weeks, before a full investigation could be done.
Now the outlook is even more bleak for eager physicists, who have already waited decades for the giant collider to come to fruition, after only a week of tantilizingly successful beam operations.
The warm-up period and ensuing investigations will bump up against the LHC's "obligatory winter maintenance period," according to a statement today from CERN. This brings us into early spring before commissioning can restart.
“Coming immediately after the very successful start of LHC operation on 10 September, this is undoubtedly a psychological blow,” CERN Director General Robert Aymar said. “Nevertheless, the success of the LHC’s first operation with beam is testimony to years of painstaking preparation and the skill of the teams involved in building and running CERN’s accelerator complex. I have no doubt that we will overcome this setback with the same degree of rigor and application.”