* Astronomy

India and Ukraine will soon sign an agreement for cooperation in research of the outer space for peaceful purposes.

This was decided when President A P J Abdul Kalam, also known as "India's missile man", visited Ukranian space agency Yuzhnoye, one of the largest rocket manufacturing units in the world, here yesterday.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman G Madhvan Nair, who was accompanying the President, stayed back and would soon sign an agreement of protocol for cooperation in research of the outer space.

The agreement would serve as the basis of chalking out a blue print for collaboration between the two organisations to further cooperate in carrying out joint research in the outer space for peaceful purposes. An MoU was also signed between the two countries in this regard on Thursday.

The Ukrainian space agency, which was earlier engaged in serial production of missiles for erstwhile USSR, had collaboration with ISRO in 1970s for the launch of Aryabhat, Bhaskar-I and Bhaskar-II satellites.

During his visit, the President received a briefing from the scientists here about their new projects.

Yuzhnoye was established in 1954 and shot into prominence after the development of a missile based on radically new technologies of hypergolic propellant components and use of self-contained guidance and control system.

After the break-up of the erstwhile USSR, the establishment was assigned a new programme which included development of anti-aircraft missile defence system, air-borne, sea-borne, sea-based and surface-deployed missile systems.

The establishment is also engaged in development of various liquid-propellants for space rockets and is credited with being a pioneering company in aerospace industry to set up a mechanism to facilitate a solution of important problems while carrying out flight tests of strategic missiles and launch vehicles.

The company with a workforce of 50,000 scientists and experts, is presently working on Okean-O oceanographic satellite, Koronas-F solar observation satellite, Zenit-3SL three-stage launcher for sea launch projects and Dnepr launch vehicle.

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