Atomic Energy: Milestones in India

April 20, 2012	:	Uranium Corporation of India Ltd of DAE commissions Uranium mines and processing plant at Tummalapalle, Andhra Pradesh
July 18, 2011	:	First pour of concrete at Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS),  Rawatbhata Unit 7 & 8
January 07, 2011	:	Honourable Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh inaugurated power reactor spent fuel reprocessing plant (PREFRE II) at BARC, Tarapur and dedicated it to the Nation. Production started in July 2011
December 31, 2010	:	CIRUS decommissioned and permanently shutdown on 31.12.2010
December 7, 2010	:	India and France signed  agreement for the fuel supply
November 27, 2010	:	Unit 4 of  Kaiga Atomic Power Project achieved first criticality and synchronised to grid on January 19, 2011
June 9, 2010	:	Plans for establishing Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) announced. Establishment of GCNEP was declared on  27 June 2011
March 29, 2010	:	India and USA completed negotiations on "arrangements and procedures" for reprocessing U.S. - obligated spent nuclear fuel.
March 12, 2010	:	India & Russia agreed on a Roadmap for the construction of reactors of Russian design in India
February 11, 2010	:	India and United Kingdom sign joint declaration on nuclear cooperation
January 23, 2010	:	Unit 6 of Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) achieved first criticality. It was syncronised to grid on March 28, 2010 and goes commercial operations on March 31, 2010
November 11, 2009	:	Unit 5 of Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) achieved first criticality. It was syncronised to grid on December 22, 2009
November, 2009	:	Nuclear Recycle Board (NRB) formed
September 30, 2008	:	India and France signed agreement on cooperation for peaceful uses of Nuclear Energy
April 7, 2008	:	Low power critical facility at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) attained first criticality
March 13, 2008	:	DAE and University Institute of Chemical Technology (UICT), Mumbai signed MoU to establish a new DAE-UICT Centre for Chemical Engineering Education and Research
September 2007	:	Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) developed a 32 metre diameter Indian Deep Space Antenna System – IDSN 32 for providing steering, tracking and science data reception support for ISRO’s Moon Mission – Chandrayaan – I
August 31, 2007	:	Units 3 & 4 of the Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS) dedicated to the Nation
1 August, 2007	:	India and USA signed agreement on cooperation for peaceful uses of Nuclear Energy
June 25, 2007	:	The first Opencast Uranium Mine of Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) was inaugurated at Banduhurang. A Uranium Ore Processing Plant, also of UCIL inaugurated at Turamdih in Singhbum (East) district of Jharkhand
April 26, 2007	:	India exported the first consignment of 720 kg Alfonso and Keasr mangoes to the US after being irradiated at BARC’s KRUSHAK plant at Lasalgaon, Nashik.
February 26, 2007	:	Unit – 3 of the 220 MWe Kaiga Atomic Power Project  in North Karnataka attained criticality. The criticality was achieved in less than 5 years, the first pour of concrete having been done in March 2002. It was syncronised to grid on April 14, 2007 and commercial operations started on May 6, 2007.
December, 2006	:	Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Honourable President of India dedicated Bhabhatron –II to the cancer patients at the Indian Red Cross Society Cancer (IRCS) Hospital, Nellore
August 4, 2006	:	APSARA the first nuclear research reactor in the whole of Asia completed 50 years.
May 21, 2006	:	The 540 MWe Unit – 3 of Tarapur Atomic power Project (TAPP – 3) attained criticality. It was syncronised to grid on June 15, 2006 and goes commercial operations on August 18, 2006.
March 2006	:	Bhabhatron – I, the first indigenous Teletherapy unit was installed at ACTREC, TMC, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai
December 17, 2005	:	Centre for Advanced Technology (CAT) Indore dedicated in the memory of Dr. Raja Ramanna. The centre was renamed as Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT).
December 5, 2005	:	India was admitted to the International Thermo-nuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) venture. Other parties in this venture are China, European Union, Japan, South Korea and United States. India signs agreement on November 21, 2006 to join ITER project.
November 15, 2005	:	New Supercomputing facilities building of Computer Centre, BARC was inaugurated at Trombay.
June 3, 2005	:	Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI)  with a Deemed to be University status has been established.
July 10, 2004	:	Crystal and Mat Laboratories was inaugurated at Trombay.
2003	:	1.7 MeV Tandetron Accelerator and the demo facility Lead Mini Cell (LMC), for reprocessing of FBTR carbide fuel on lab scale, are commissioned at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR).
October 22, 2003	:	Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam (BHAVINI) was set up at Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu.
November 2002	:	UCIL's Turumdih Mine, Jharkhand was inaugurated and Technology Demonstration Pilot Plant becomes operational at Jaduguda.
October 31, 2002	:	Waste Immobilisation Plant and Uranium-Thorium Separation Plant(both at Trombay), and the Radiation Processing Plant Krushak at Lasalgaon, district Nasik, Maharashtra, are dedicated to the Nation.
September18, 2002	:	First pour of concrete of Unit-5 of Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS)  5 & 6.
September, 2002	:	Medical cyclotron facility of BARC was commissioned at Parel, Mumbai (TMC campus)
March 31, 2002	:	First pour of concrete of Unit 1 & 2 of Kudankulam Atomic Power Project.
March 30, 2002 & May 10,  2002	:	First pours of concrete respectively of Unit-3 and Unit-4 of Kaiga Atomic Power Project 3 & 4.
February 12, 2002	:	India signed the contract with the Russian Federation for the Nuclear Power Station at Kudankulam, Tamil Nadu.
March 18, 2001	:	Units 3 & 4 of Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS)  was dedicated to the nation.
November 03, 2000	:	Unit-4 of Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS)  attained criticality. It was synchronised to grid on November 17, 2000 and goes commercial on December 23, 2000.
September 26, 2000	:	Unit-1 of Kaiga Atomic Power Station attained criticality. It was synchronised to the grid on October 12, 2000 and goes commercial on November 16, 2000.
May 1, 2000	:	BARC Safety Council was formed
April 21, 2000	:	Folded Tandem Ion Accelerator (FOTIA) delivered first beam on target.
March 10, 2000	:	Unit-3 of Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS)  synchronised to the grid.
March 8, 2000	:	Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS)- 3 & 4 rises up.
2000	:	Boron Enrichment Plant was commissioned at IGCAR, Kalpakkam.
January 1, 2000	:	BRIT's plant for radiation processing of spices was commissioned at Vashi, Navi Mumbai.
December 24, 1999	:	Unit-3 of Rajasthan Atomic Power Station attained criticality. It was synchronised to the grid on March 10, 2000, and becomes commercial on June 1, 2000.
October 01, 1999	:	India’s first Nuclear Power Plant Simulator was upgraded.
September 24, 1999	:	Unit-2 of Kaiga Atomic Power Station attained criticality. It was synchronised to the grid on December 02, 1999, and becomes commercial on March 16, 2000.
July 1999	:	Solid Storage and surveillance Facility at Tarapur was commissioned.
April 22, 1999	:	450 MeV Synchrotron Radiation Source Indus-1 achieved electron beam current of 113 milli-ampere superceding the design value of 100 milli-ampere.
August 10, 1998	:	The 500 KeV industrial electron accelerator developed indigenously by the BARC was commissioned for its first phase of operation.
May 27, 1998	:	Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) Unit-2 was recommissioned after enmasse replacement of coolant channels.
May 11 & 13, 1998	:	Five underground nuclear tests were conducted at Pokhran Range,Rajasthan.
December 1997	:	Jadugudda Mill was expanded to treat 2,090 tonnes ore per day. PRYNCE(95% Neodymium Oxide) Plant was commissioned at Rare Earths Division.
March 31, 1997	:	Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) Unit-1 was recommissioned after repair of OPRD valve.
October 20, 1996	:	Kalpakkam Mini Reactor (KAMINI), with Uranium-233 fuel, attained criticality at Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, Tamilnadu. On September 17, 1997 Research Reactor KAMINI attained full power level of 30 kWt.
March 27, 1996	:	Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KARP) was cold commissioned. It was dedicated to Nation on September 15, 1998.
January 995	:	Narwapahar mine was inaugurated.
August 12, 1993	:	Technology Offer Centre was inaugurated at DAE, Mumbai.
September 03, 1992	:	Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KARP) - Unit I attained criticality. Its Unit II attained criticality on January 08, 1995
May 16, 1991	:	First ECR heavy ion source of the country becomes operational at the Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre.
November 09, 1990	:	Research Reactor PURNIMA-III,  a Uranium-233 fuelled reactor, attained criticality
March 12, 1989	:	Narora Atomic Power Station Unit I attained criticality. Its Unit II attained criticality on October 24, 1991
March 1, 1989	:	Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology (BRIT) commenced operations.
January 3, 1989	:	Regional Radiation Medicine Centre (RRMC) was inaugurated at Kolkata.
December 30, 1988	:	12MV Pelletron Accelerator was inaugurated.
December 1986	:	Mosabani Uranium Recovery Plant commissioned.
1986	:	Dredge Mining, Mineral Separation and Synthetic Rutile Plant at OSCOM, Orissa was commissioned.
October 18, 1985	:	Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) at Kalpakkam attained criticality.
August 08, 1985	:	Research Reactor DHRUVA (100 MWt) attained criticality. It attained full power on January 17, 1988.
March 05, 1985	:	Waste Immobilisation Plant (WIP) at Tarapur was commissioned.
May 10, 1984	:	Research Reactor PURNIMA-II, Uranium-233 fuelled homogenous reactor, attained criticality.
March 08, 1984	:	Plutonium- Uranium mixed Carbide Fuel for fast breeder test reactor was fabricated in BARC.
February 19, 1984	:	Centre for Advanced Technology at Indore( Madhya Pradesh) inaugurated and later renamed by Honourable Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh on December, 17 2005 to Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT)
January 27, 1984	:	Madras Atomic Power Station - Unit I at Kalpakkam started commercial operation. Unit II goes commercial on March 21, 1986.
November 15, 1983	:	Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) was constituted.
February,1983	:	Rakha Uranium Recovery Plant of Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) was commissioned.
November 19, 1982	:	Power Reactor Fuel Reprocessing Plant at Tarapur was commissioned.
November 18, 1979	:	Plutonium-Uranium mixed oxide fuel was fabricated at Trombay
June 16, 1977	:	Variable Energy Cyclotron becomes operational at Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC) Kolkata.
September 1975	:	Surda Uranium Recovery Plant of Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) was commissioned.
May 1975	:	Commercial production of by-products - Molybdenum and Copper concentrates started
March 1975	:	Commercial production of Uranium Mineral Concentrates from Copper plant tailings at Surda, Hindustan Copper Limited commenced.
May 18, 1974	:	Peaceful underground Nuclear Experiment was conducted at Pokhran, Rajasthan.
1974	:	Radiation sterilisation plant (ISOMED) commenced at Trombay
1974	:	By-product Recovery Plant of  Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) at Jaduguda was commissioned.
November 30, 1972	:	Unit-1 of Rajasthan Atomic Power Station at Kota began commercial operation. Unit II goes commercial on November 1, 1980.
May 18, 1972	:	Research Reactor PURNIMA-I attained criticality.
February 3, 1972	:	Formation of DAE Safety Review Committee
February18, 1971	:	Plutonium fuel for Research Reactor PURNIMA-I was fabricated at Trombay
September 06, 1970	:	Uranium-233 was Separated from irradiated thorium
October 02, 1969	:	Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS) starts commercial operation.
May 01, 1969	:	Heavy Water Projects was constituted. Later, it becomes Heavy Water Board.
March 12, 1969	:	Reactor Research Centre was started at Kalpakkam. Renamed as Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR).  on December 18, 1985.
December 31, 1968	:	Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) was set up at Hyderabad.
May 1968	:	Uranium Mill at Jaduguda, with a capacity of 1,000 TPD, commenced commercial production of Magnesium diuranate (yellowcake). Jaduguda Mine Shaft was commissioned in November 1968.
October 04, 1967	:	Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) was established with headquarters at Jaduguda for mining and milling of uranium ores.
June 1, 1967	:	Formation of Power Projects Engineering Division, Mumbai, which was subsequently converted to Nuclear Power Board on August 17, 1984. It became as Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited on September 17,1987.
April 11, 1967	:	Electronics Corporation of India Limited was set up at Hyderabad for producing electronic systems, instruments and components.
January 22, 1967	:	Atomic Energy Establishment Trombay (AEET) was renamed as Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.
January 22, 1965	:	Plutonium Plant was inaugurated.
January 14, 1961	:	Research Reactor ZERLINA  attained criticality. It was decommissioned in 1983
July 10, 1960	:	CIRUS – the 40 MWt research reactor attained criticality.
February 19, 1960	:	First lot of 10 Fuel Elements for CIRUS  reactor was fabricated at Trombay
January 30, 1959	:	Uranium Metal Plant at Trombay started production
August 19, 1957	:	Atomic Energy Establishment Training School started functioning.
January 20, 1957	:	Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET) was inaugurated
August 04, 1956	:	APSARA - first research reactor in Asia, attained criticality at Trombay, Mumbai.
August 01, 1955	:	Thorium Plant at Trombay goes into production.
August 03, 1954	:	Department of Atomic Energy was created.
December 24, 1952	:	Rare Earths Plant of IRE at Alwaye, Kerala, was dedicated to the nation and production of Rare Earths & Thorium - Uranium concentrate commenced.
April, 1951	:	Uranium Deposit at Jaduguda was discovered by AMD. Drilling operations commenced in December 1951.
August 18, 1950	:	Indian Rare Earths Limited was set up for recovering minerals, processing of rare earths compounds and Thorium - Uranium concentrates.
July 29, 1949	:	Rare Minerals Survey Unit was set up. Later, this unit becomes Atomic Minerals Division. It was renamed as Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research on July 29, 1998.
August 10, 1948	:	The Atomic Energy Commission was constituted.
April 15, 1948	:	Atomic Energy Act was passed
December 19, 1945	:	Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) , Mumbai was inaugurated.
March 12, 1944	:	Dr. Homi Jehangir Bhabha writes to Sir Dorabji Tata Trust for starting Nuclear Research in India.

Space Pollution

There are many types of pollution in our environment:  water pollution, air pollution, noise pollution, and more. But one of these – space pollution – is in a category all by itself. Space pollution refers to the gathering debris in orbit around the Earth, made up of discarded rocket boosters, broken satellites, and more. And just like the other types of pollution, space pollution is a cause for increasing concern as the amount of material continues to grow.

“Big Sky” or “Kessler Syndrome”?

 Several decades ago, as the U.S. was just beginning to launch items into space, NASA officials relied on the “big sky theory” when faced with the question of accumulating debris. According to the theory, objects left in space would disperse and eventually re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere, where they would burn up before hitting the ground. Following this logic, there was no reason to be concerned about over-crowding the space around our planet.

The big sky theory was challenged in 1978 by a NASA scientist named Donald Kessler. Kessler published a paper titled “Collision Frequency of Artificial Satellites: The Creation of a Debris Belt,” which argued that the increasing number of man-made objects in space posed a huge threat. It wasn’t just the slow growth of these objects, Kessler wrote, but the way in which inevitable collisions would create a domino-like effect. One big collision could generate thousands of pieces of debris, each of which might go on to strike other objects, leading to a chain reaction that would exponentially increase the number of items in space. This phenomenon, later dubbed the “Kessler Syndrome,” would produce a “growing belt of debris.”

The development of this “belt of debris” would have significant consequences, beginning with damage to existing satellites, as more and more are pelted with sharp objects traveling at high speeds. This could eventually disrupt satellites tasked with communication and weather observation functions, causing a noticeable impact for people on Earth. Even worse, any future space exploration missions – or even service missions to repair existing objects in orbit – would become far more dangerous. 

Monitoring Space Pollution:

Right now, NASA’s Orbital Debris Program Office is monitoring about 19,000 pieces of space debris larger than 10 centimeters. Because these are the biggest objects, they pose the greatest risk to Earth. This risk includes surviving re-entry into Earth and causing damage here, of striking a spaceship or the International Space Station, or of colliding with another piece of debris and causing the effect predicted by Kessler.

Unfortunately, there are also half a million items between one and 10 centimeters, and an almost incalculable number (projected at over 10 million) that are smaller than a centimeter. And it is not just the large pieces that create a risk—the International Space Station (ISS) is considered to be vulnerable to impact by objects only one centimeter across. The ISS was wisely designed with the ability to move out of the path of oncoming debris and has had to executive five such maneuvers in the last 30 months alone. Officials at NASA now believe that such debris poses the greatest threat to the ISS.

Evidence of the Kessler Syndrome at Play

Writing in 1978, Kessler predicted that the cascading effect of debris collisions would begin in 30 to 40 years. And now, right on time, we are starting to see evidence. The first event, in 2007, was not exactly what Kessler had expected; it was caused when China launched a rocket at one of its own defunct satellites, presumably as a show of military force. The rocket hit its target, and in the process created about 3000 pieces of debris that are now shooting through space and causing additional collisions. One large chunk came very close to hitting both the space shuttle Atlantis and the Hubble Space Telescope.

The second event was more in line with Kessler’s original argument – the idea that space would simply become more and more crowded until collisions became inevitable. On February 10, 2009, a U.S. communications satellite named Iridium 33 was struck by an out-of-service Russian satellite called Cosmos 2251. Both were traveling at 18,000 miles per hour, or five miles per second, and the impact created a “cloud of debris” consisting of thousands of individual pieces.

This collision and the Chinese rocket vastly increased the amount of debris in orbit around the Earth. Kessler said that these two events alone “doubled the amount of fragments in Earth orbit and completely wiped out what we had done in the last 25 years” to manage the threat generated by space pollution. Kessler’s efforts included a set of rules and guidelines, which were subsequently adopted by many other nations, specifying which types of objects could be left in space.

Re-Examination and Clean-Up

After the satellite collision in 2009, NASA and the U.S. military began to take the issue of space pollution much more seriously. These organizations had previously been watching only 120 satellites for potential collisions, and Iridium 33 wasn’t even on the radar. They quickly expanded their capacity and now monitor thousands of satellites and tens of thousands of pieces of debris.

In December 2009, Kessler and his colleagues organized the Conference on Orbital Debris Removal, which sought out a broad range of inventions and concepts for cleaning up the polluted space around our planet. Kessler was impressed with the results, saying “I’ve gone from being totally skeptical to thinking maybe something will work…We can bring things down; it’s just going to cost a lot.” NASA is pursuing a variety of avenues right now, and its 2011 budget proposal included funds for research grants in this area.

The proposed clean-up methods are numerous, and they are all still in the design and development phases. With that being said, here are a few of the most promising ideas:

•     DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has outlined plans for an Electrodynamic Debris Eliminator featuring 200 nets, all of which are connected to a central unit. Debris captured in the nets could be sent back toward Earth to burn up in the atmosphere or even recycled on the spot. DARPA is planning test flights for 2013. 
•    The Cube Sail, designed in Britain, is based around sail technology that relies on the force of sunlight to move. In the short term, the project team envisions a sail attachment for new satellites that could be used to move the object away from the “debris belt” – either toward Earth or out into space. Further down the road, they hope to create special debris cleaners that use solar sails to navigate through space and gather objects. 
•     Tethers Unlimited, a space company in Seattle, proposed a vehicle named “Rustler” that would connect a miles-long attachment made of wire mesh to debris in space. Electrical current could be sent through the attachment and, relying on the principles of electromagnetic forces, the item would be pulled in by Earth's magnetic field and eventually burn up in the atmosphere.