The 58th International Astronautical Congress at Hyderabad, which marked the golden jubilee year of first man-made satellite – Sputnik-1, was a spectacular event.
The five-day conference which was held in India after a gap of 19 years was inaugurated by Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS Rajasekhara Reddy. In his inaugural address, Rajasekhara Reddy said the congregation is a platform for leaders, policy makers, space scientists, engineers and academicians to deliberate upon the increasingly important role of space, advanced technologies that are application driven and find utility in the development of the society. Many projects like tele-education, tele-medicine, village resource centres are an integration of a variety of space-based technologies like satellite remote sensing, positioning systems and satellite meteorology, he said.
Dr Reddy said the much-popular irrigation programme of the AP Government, Jala Yagnam, used remote sensing technology to its optimum. He recalled that he could impress upon Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in explaining the 2004 flood damage by using space technology. For the efficient and judicious utilisation of land, water, environment as well as disaster management support, space technology demonstrated a strategic dimension because of its quick information-gathering capacity and its ability to influence large areas. Referring to the presence of a large number of global leaders from the space industry, he reiterated the government’s commitment to public-private partnerships in furthering the space technology for the common good of the society.
Opening the Congress, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Prithviraj Chavan said space technology is an indispensable tool for social, economic and cultural progress of a country and high resolution satellite imagery has increased the transparency in relations between the nations.
Talking on Indian capabilities, Chavan said India achieved self-reliance in launching with its PSLV and GSLV series of launch vehicles. It is also making rapid strides in planetary exploration and advancing well in its planned manned mission, all at a modest investment. He stressed on the need for international cooperation in this arena citing Chandrayaan.
He charted out ISRO’s plans saying that ISRO plans 60 missions in the next five years with stress on navigation, positioning, earth observation and space science. Increased cooperation with international organisations and nations in this field is another area where ISRO is keenly exploring, he said.
Interspaced with traditional dance and music performances, the inaugural ceremony was laced with evocative speeches by guests of honour, James V Zimmerman, IAF President, Edwards, IAA President and Nandi Jasentuliyana, IISL’s President.
The high-profile event, with the theme "Touching Humanity: Space For Improving Quality Of Life", saw the participation of the space agency chiefs of NASA and space agencies of Europe, Russia, Japan, China and representatives of aerospace industry from across the globe.
The five-day space extravaganza saw the participation of more than 2000 space specialists from across the world, 140 technical sessions, scores of plenary sessions, a business conclave, student and youth professional programmes.
