India and Indians in Space

Up there in the space, when India's first astronaut  Mr Rakesh Sharma, was asked by the then Prime Minister Ms Indira Gandhi, how did India look from the space, he replied "Saare Jahan se Accha"! (Better than the rest of the world). 

Mr Sharma was the 138th cosmonaut (an astronaut is known as a cosmonaut in Russia/former Soviet Union) in mankind's history to take the extraordinary voyage into the outer space.  And if you think he was just doing his job, look at Apollo 13 mission.  That'll give you an idea of how the space missions are fraught with risks.

There have been only two Indians in space so far, including Mr Sharma. The only other Indian to have been in space is Ms Kalpana Chawla. 

Asteroid named after Kalpana Chawla , Sify News, Aug 07, 2003.

Update Feb 04, 2003:

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Kalpana Chawla was one of the seven astronauts in the Columbia space shuttle when it disintegrated in Texas skies just 16 minutes before its scheduled landing on Feb 1st.  As I had pointed out in a paragraph above, there are huge risks involved in space travel even in this age and time when space travel has become routine and even monotonous.  This accident puts the focus back on the dangers of space expeditions and the risks that these daring astronauts willingly take.  Echoing the same theme, here's a BBC article on The dangers of space travel.

Here are some links about Columbia tragedy and Kalpana Chawla.

STS-107: Columbia and Crew Condolence Book  Kalpana Chawla's bio on NASA site Kalpana Chawla's Preflight Interview A detailed look at Kalpana Chawla's background at rediff.com A comprehensive coverage of tragedy and about Kalpana Chwala, rediff.com India Mourns Woman Who Challenged Tradition, Fox News India cries for Kalpana Chawla, Sify News India has lost a worthy daughter, The Tribune India honours 'inspiring' astronaut, BBC Satellite series named after Kalpana, Sify News Columbia FAQ: Hard Questions, Simple Answers, space.com Beam Me Out Of This Death Trap, Scotty 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... Goodbye, Columbia, a 1980 article about NASA's space shuttle program They Write the Right Stuff, FastCompany.  An article about s/w in shuttle. STS-107 "Columbia" Loss FAQ The Space Shuttle Must Be Stopped, Time

In the midst of all this bad news, there's a light of hope in the news that another Indian American woman, Sunita Lyn Williams, has recently been chosen for space mission.

• 2nd Indian woman for NASA mission, rediff.com

• Another Indian American woman for NASA space mission, Indian Express

• NASA Selects 2nd Indo-American Woman For Space Mission, Indolink

• Sunita Williams becomes second Indian-American for NASA's space mission, Express India

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That spirit of excellence continues and now India plans its own shot at moon, (report at CNN).

Here are some links for Indian space programme and astronauts/space in general:

• Moon within our reach: ISRO

• India in Space

• VIMANAS THE ANCIENT INDIAN ASTRONAUT CONNECTION

• First Indian May Step Onto Moon In 2005

• Some quotes from astronauts

Some Other interesting Space Links:

• The last men on the Moon

• Reviving Romance with Space, NYTimes

• Europe Heads for the Moon in July, March 04, 03

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 Last updated: Sep 22, 2003