The Childhood desire of becoming an astronaut drove me to have a career in space. Writing papers & publishing, giving talks and presentations in the global forums is a dream come true. 64th International Astronautical Congress was held at Beijing, China from 23rd to 27th September 2013 (www.iac2013.org). Three of my papers were selected for presentation. One of them includes Icarus paper titled “The conceptual design of an Interstellar Spacecraft – Project Longshot II ~The Next Generation”. I was also selected to participate in the UN/IAF Workshop on “Space Technology for Economic Development” which was the pre-congress event of IAC held from 20th to 22nd September 2013. The trip was funded from my college and I represented both Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology and Icarus Interstellar.
The first day of the workshop was on the space applications to agriculture and land use. Next two days were contemplated on the disaster management. We had the opportunity to meet many professors and scientists from various parts of the world and discuss the need for the knowledge on end use of space technologies. I was pleased to meet Kostas K, Icarus Designer and Dr. Maccone in the conference. The pre-congress program also included IAA academy day.
On the First day of IAC, there was Plenary session by the Head of space agencies including Charles Bolden Jr., NASA Administrator; Dr.S.Ramakrishnan, Distinguished scientist, ISRO and administrators of ESA, CNSA, CSA, ROSCOSMOS, JAXA. Longshot II paper presentation was on the same day in the technical session -Innovative and Visionary Space Systems Concepts. Presentation was well appreciated and there were discussions on the power system and the communication system concepts. Next days of the conference had varied technical sessions on Astro-dynamics, Propulsion systems, Enabling space technologies, Launch services, Legal issues, Human spaceflight, Micro-gravity experiments, Navigation and control of Spacecrafts, Space Structures, Space Power technologies, Space Communication technologies etc,. More than 15 parallel sessions took place in every half of the day.
Highlight lecture on Voyager: “Voyager’s Journey to Interstellar space” was one of the much adored events of the congress. It was exhilarating to meet Edward Stone and to know how 1970s made spacecraft is still performing the best in space. It serves as an example for technological development of Mankind. IAC gave me an opportunity to meet and talk to many astronauts. Top 10 research results from International Space Station, Global networking forum’s Q&A with Sandy Magnus-Former NASA Shuttle and International Space Station Astronaut, Astronauts Outreach Event, Plenary sessions on The Role of International Innovation in Accelerating Future Human Space Exploration, Women in Space- A 50 year Success story were incredible!
Soon after IAC, there was United Nations/United Arab Emirates Symposium on Basic Space Technology ”Small Satellite Missions for Developing Space Nations” from 20th to 23rd Oct 2013 at Zayed University Conference Center in Dubai, UAE hosted by Emirates Institution for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST).The Symposium was part of the 2013 activities of the United Nations Program on Space Applications endorsed by the Committee on the Peaceful uses of Outer Space and the United Nations General Assembly (http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/SAP/bsti/uae2013.html). I was fortunate enough to be selected by UNOOSA (United Nations Office for Outerspace Affairs) to participate in the symposium with full funding for the poster presentation. To follow the United Nations Conferences keep track of: http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/OOSA/index.html
The main objectives of the symposium included reviewing the status of capacity building in basic space technology in particular in the field of small satellites (<100kg) development activities with a focus on regional and international cooperation opportunities for countries in Western Asia; and also to discuss the way forward for the Basic Space Technology Initiative (BSTI). Capacity Building, Infrastructure, Regulatory and Legal issues, Small Satellite development and Launch opportunities were discussed in the symposium. In this regard my paper titled “Small Satellites for Earth and Space exploration” focusing on the small satellites which are developed for remote sensing applications and Project Tin-Tin, Interstellar Nano-Sat mission to Alpha Centauri as the initiative of Icarus Interstellar in the advancement of Small Satellites Application was presented in the Poster session.
Working in space sector is not only giving opportunities to study and explore outerspace but also to tour around the world. After the conference in Beijing, we were fortunate to step on “Great Wall of China”, one of the Seven Wonders of the World and also roam around Forbidden City. Dubai trip gave a chance to view the Splendid paradise city in the night from a 64th floor of the hotel – The Address Downtown Dubai, Burj Khalifa- the tallest man made structure in the world and the beauty of desert in the evening.
The conferences were of more learning blended with fun.