Indian space activities received high level of recognition at the recently concluded 54th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) held in Bremen, Germany during Sep 29-Oct 3, 2003. Dr K Kasturirangan, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and former Chairman, ISRO was honoured with the prestigious international award of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) – the Allan D Emil Memorial Award for 2004. The Award is in recognition of the outstanding contributions of Dr K Kasturirangan in space science, technology and applications and furthering international cooperation in space. The Award will be presented to Dr Kasturirangan in the 55th IAF to be held in Vancouver, Canada during 2004.
Also Dr K Kasturirangan, was elected as the Vice President of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) and he will steer the Scientific Activities of the international academy for the coming years.
Yet another gain for India was the decision of the IAF to accept the proposal of ISRO to host the 58th IAC to be held in 2007 in India.
