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Mangalyaan, India’s First Mars Mission

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Re: Mangalyaan, India’s First Mars Mission

#31

Post by maaku »

swatkat wrote: post #14
jayadevan wrote: post #11

One would imagine that scientists believe less in rituals. ISRO scientists pray at the Thirupathi temple before every mission.

Yes, that's the tradition :) Former Isro chairman G Madhavan Nair on Monday said, “This has been a tradition. I had also gone to Tirupati before the Chandrayaan mission.” But more than religious beliefs, he said these temple visits helped des-stress the mind and offer clarity. But beyond this, do superstitions and other beliefs have a hold on the scientists? “Not really,” said Mylswamy Annadurai, the project director…

Regarding the peanuts (in case this was lost on others): it's a JPL tradition that mission control open and share a jar of nuts right before the launch / orbital insertion / landing, for good luck. The point, obviously, is that space programs everywhere have good luck superstitions, many of them making less sense than a religious ritual.

Re: Mangalyaan, India’s First Mars Mission

#32

Post by gadders »

bolder88 wrote: post #30
pavs wrote: post #19

Every time India space programs discussion comes out a group of people will bring up India's poverty and other problem that should be fixed instead of investing on space program. I used to be one of those guys (I am from Bangladesh), then I looked at the actual cost of this space program and realized that its not a lot of money (~$70 Million) even by India's standard. For example, in india's domestic cricket tourname…

One of the bigger questions is international aid. "Since 2007 India has been the world's largest recipient of recorded remittances from abroad. In 2010 these inflows were worth $54bn (£35bn). UK foreign direct investment in India is considerable, reaching £1.8bn in the same year." You can't really on the one hand claim your country is terribly poor, and needs handouts from other nations, and on the other play at bein…

It reminds me of the people on state benefits that think a good use of their money is a 52" plasma tv.

On the other hand, I think the stopping of state aid to a country should be celebrated as a positive thing - a "graduation", if you like.

Re: Mangalyaan, India’s First Mars Mission

#33

Post by swatkat »

T+150 secs. PSLV Stage-1 separated. PS-2 lit.

T+260 secs. PS-2 separated. PS-3 lit.

PS-3 burn out. PSLV enters a long coasting of 28 minutes, after which 4th stage will be triggered.

T + 32 minutes. Coasting almost done. Stage 4 ignition in few moments. Altitude is a bit higher due to over-performance.

PS-4 started. 4th stage performance normal. Yay!!

T+44 minutes. PS-4 cutoff. Spacecraft separation success :) Spacecraft successfully placed in elliptical orbit around Earth. 300 day long journey begins now.

http://i.imgur.com/NX9MNsF.jpg

Re: Mangalyaan, India’s First Mars Mission

#34

Post by [deleted] »

swatkat wrote: post #33

T+150 secs. PSLV Stage-1 separated. PS-2 lit. T+260 secs. PS-2 separated. PS-3 lit. PS-3 burn out. PSLV enters a long coasting of 28 minutes, after which 4th stage will be triggered. T + 32 minutes. Coasting almost done. Stage 4 ignition in few moments. Altitude is a bit higher due to over-performance. PS-4 started. 4th stage performance normal. Yay!! T+44 minutes. PS-4 cutoff. Spacecraft separation success :) Spacec…

[deleted]

Re: Mangalyaan, India’s First Mars Mission

#35

Post by skrish »

kamaal wrote: post #26

Those people claiming ISRO does it at a shoe string budget, because they reuse yes they do. But we are talking of a factor of more 10 here. Let me put facts on ground. Go and visit any ISRO campus in India. See the kind of offices they work in, they kind of food canteens they eat lunch at, they kind of buses they travel in and take a look at how much they are paid. I assure you will be shocked. In fact shocked will b…

I used to stay in a paying guest accomodation during my first job. My roommate was a guy who had just joined ISRO - we graduated same year but from different colleges. And I also had a chance to interact closely with 2 other friends who were working with ISRO at that time (one was a senior in college).

His payscale started at Rs.8000 per month (in 2001 that was less than $200usd). He was a production engineer. He would be up for next revision of payscale & promotion pending a review in 4 years! He knew that.

I used to wonder what keeps them motivated and I used to constantly question them. One common thread you find based on these conversations is that they are extremely satisfied with work - each of them used to say that what they are working on is UNIQUE that nobody else in ISRO is responsible for. And buck stops with them. They knew that.

That sense of ownership and the way the employees connect to a much larger cause is something unbelievable at ISRO, in my perspective. I used to be in awe of every conversation about his superiors, the work and their perspective of the organization in general.

I think it is an interesting case study in organizational behavior and what keeps you motivated with factors other than just money.

Teaching is another profession I think requires similar mindset. ISRO somehow hires the right kind of people, the employees within the organization are not so flamboyant setting examples for new hires and helps them connect in a way it makes people see contribution to a bigger cause.

Just my observation from what I have seen from close quarters.

BTW, it is also given that he knew they get pension after retirement, medical benefits & all such taken care of for his entire life because he is part of the organization.

Would love to read if there are any case studies on this.

Re: Mangalyaan, India’s First Mars Mission

#36

Post by cdash »

bolder88 wrote: post #30
pavs wrote: post #19

Every time India space programs discussion comes out a group of people will bring up India's poverty and other problem that should be fixed instead of investing on space program. I used to be one of those guys (I am from Bangladesh), then I looked at the actual cost of this space program and realized that its not a lot of money (~$70 Million) even by India's standard. For example, in india's domestic cricket tourname…

One of the bigger questions is international aid. "Since 2007 India has been the world's largest recipient of recorded remittances from abroad. In 2010 these inflows were worth $54bn (£35bn). UK foreign direct investment in India is considerable, reaching £1.8bn in the same year." You can't really on the one hand claim your country is terribly poor, and needs handouts from other nations, and on the other play at bein…

I don't know anything about UK investment in India but remittances are not international aid, that is money earned by foreign workers.

Re: Mangalyaan, India’s First Mars Mission

#37

Post by [deleted] »

swatkat wrote: post #33

T+150 secs. PSLV Stage-1 separated. PS-2 lit. T+260 secs. PS-2 separated. PS-3 lit. PS-3 burn out. PSLV enters a long coasting of 28 minutes, after which 4th stage will be triggered. T + 32 minutes. Coasting almost done. Stage 4 ignition in few moments. Altitude is a bit higher due to over-performance. PS-4 started. 4th stage performance normal. Yay!! T+44 minutes. PS-4 cutoff. Spacecraft separation success :) Spacec…

[deleted]

Re: Mangalyaan, India’s First Mars Mission

#39

Post by anupshinde »

kamaal wrote: post #26

Those people claiming ISRO does it at a shoe string budget, because they reuse yes they do. But we are talking of a factor of more 10 here. Let me put facts on ground. Go and visit any ISRO campus in India. See the kind of offices they work in, they kind of food canteens they eat lunch at, they kind of buses they travel in and take a look at how much they are paid. I assure you will be shocked. In fact shocked will b…

Generally, I would have simply agreed with what you said. (and what you said is true)

But! Stop complaining at this one moment. And take a look at the achievements of this country's people. They don't have world's best food, world-class infrastructure and not enough money to hire world class talent either. Probably they have world-class corruption in the country.

How many countries achieve this after having these many "core" problems. Salute to the people who achieved this feat.

Re: Mangalyaan, India’s First Mars Mission

#40

Post by suhair »

kamaal wrote: post #26

Those people claiming ISRO does it at a shoe string budget, because they reuse yes they do. But we are talking of a factor of more 10 here. Let me put facts on ground. Go and visit any ISRO campus in India. See the kind of offices they work in, they kind of food canteens they eat lunch at, they kind of buses they travel in and take a look at how much they are paid. I assure you will be shocked. In fact shocked will b…

Agree with most of what you say. But before jumping into portraying a shoe string salary take into account the "corruption adjusted benefits" that Google and other companes could not offer [http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/behind-the-sband-s...]
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