India To Set Up First Space University

posted by   raman (266)   13 months ago (science.monstersandcritics.com)

New Delhi Seeking to groom experts to help grow the country’s satellite and rocket programmes, India will set up its first space university in the southern state of Kerala, reports said Sunday. G Madhavan Nair, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which will set up the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) to meet high technology requirements of ISRO, said the agency had set a ‘target’ of mid-August. Nair told the news agency PTI that ISRO came up with the idea of the institute as it was faced with a ‘very alarming situation’ in terms of attracting the right talent for India’s space programmes. ‘Students will be taught in propulsion, aerodynamics, navigation, guidance, sub-systems, avionics, control systems and so on,’ Nair said. ‘So, that way, as soon as they come out of the Institute, they will be usable by us.’ IIST will initially operate from the campus of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at Thiruvananthapuram, a lead centre of ISRO, and venue for launches. ISRO will later create full-fledged infrastructure for IIST on a site near the Kerala capital in about two years.