Thursday, January 26, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Golden Model of Tata Nano
The body of Tata Nano is fabricated of Gold. The Diamonds and Pearls are stick on it. Total price of Golden model of Tata Nano is around Rs 22.3 Crores.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
CISF Jawans rehearsing for 63rd Republic Day Parade in New Delhi
CISF Jawans rehearsing for the 63rd Republic Day Parade in New Delhi
Thursday, January 5, 2012
ISRO plans second Mars Mission with Rover and Lander in 2018
After the success of the recent Mars Orbit Mission (MOM), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is planning to revisit the Red Planet in 2018 with a heavier satellite which will carry a lander and a rover.
Director of ISRO Satellite Centre S Shiva Kumar said the space agency is planning to launch a second Mars mission in 2018, to conduct more experiments for which they have to develop new technologies.
In September 24, the state-run space agency successfully inserted its spacecraft (MOM) in the Martian orbit with five scientific instruments to search for life-sustaining elements on the planet over nine months after it was launched November 5, 2013 from its spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, about 90 km northeast of Chennai.
“We will be able to take the Mars-2 mission after launching the second mission to the moon (Chandrayaan-2) in 2016 with our own lander and rover, which will help us develop a separate lender and rover for the red planet,” Kumar said, ahead of a three-day ‘Engineers Conclave-2014’ by the space agency with the Indian National Academy of Engineering here.
The space agency is looking for a slot in 2018 as the mission to Mars can be launched only after two years. They also hope to have a heavy rocket - fully operational to carry a lender and rover with scientific experiments as additional payloads by then.
“We hope to have fully operational heavy rockets over the next two-three years for carrying communication satellites weighting two-three tonnes into the geo-stationary orbits around the earth,” Kumar said.
The space agency has developed the geo-synchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-Mark I-III) with indigenous cryogenic engine to launch satellites weighing more than two tonnes and three tonnes into the geo-orbit at 36,000km above Earth.
New high in stem cell research: Mimicking the heart in a lab
Indian scientists have for the first time coaxed ordinary cells to behave like cells of the heart muscle. Stem cell research is making big inroads in India and experts at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore have been able to recreate the way muscles of the heart behave. This research has great potential and could well be the solution to offer spare human organs being available, on demand, literally off the shelf.
Temple treasure worth over Rs.90,000 crore
| Gold ornaments, gold and silver coins, stone studded crowns, idols and figurines inlaid with precious stones and jewels estimated to be worth a whopping over Rs.90,000 crore have been found from the cellars of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple here. | |
| The inventory list of jewellery after the opening of the chambers, some locked up for several decades, on Supreme Court orders, is expected to go up substantially. The exercise which began on June 27 to assess the value of the articles has been undertaken by a seven-member panel of observers, including two former High Court judges. It will continue tomorrow after a day’s breather today. According to the temple sources, the treasure trove has been so far estimated at around Rs 90,000 crore, throwing up security concerns with police as an interim step deploying two platoons of armed personnel to guard the area. While similar treasures possessed by many other princely states in pre-colonial India were plundered by attackers, or wasted on luxuries by members of the royal houses themselves, the Travancore kings are believed to have zealously guarded them as reserves of the state. Coins from other princely states like Vijayanagar empire and European countries have also been found which might be part of the gifts received by the rulers of the time. While all major temples of the area were handed over to the Travancore Devaswom Board after merger of the princely state with the Indian Union after 1947, control of Padmanabhaswamy temple was retained by the royal house through a covenant with the government. Narayanan, former Indian History Congress President said, "The state or Central government cannot take over these assets as they are part of the temple coffers according to the system followed by the Travancore kings." Courtesy : Deccan Herald. | |
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
India starts to develop its heaviest satellite
India will soon design and develop its heaviest communications satellite GSAT-11 to provide advanced telecom services from 2011-12, a senior official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said here Friday. At 4.5 tonnes, it will weigh more than twice as much as the biggest Indian satellite in orbit now.
“Activities to design and develop GSAT-11 will start immediately, as the project has been cleared by the government at a cost of Rs.5-billion (Rs.500 crore),” ISRO Director S. Satish said.
The advanced communications technology satellite will be launched in mid-2011 on board the Geo-Synchronus Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-Mark III) from ISRO’s spaceport at Sriharikota, about 80 km north-east of Chennai.
“The satellite will be designed at our satellite centre in Bangalore, payloads consisting of 40 transponders in Ku/Ka band will be built at the space applications centre in Ahmedabad and the 630-tonne rocket (GSLV-Mark III) will be rolled out from the liquid propulsion systems centre in Thiruvananthapuram,” Satish told IANS.
The indigenously developed GSAT series of satellites are aimed at revolutionising communications, spanning digital audio, data and video broadcasting. The earlier versions of GSAT such as GSAT-1 and GSAT-2 were designed with two S-band and three C-band transponders.
“With 16 high capacity multi-beams in Ku/Ka band, GSAT-11 will provide much faster uplinks for a host of communications and broadcasting services, including direct-to-home (DTH television). With a dry mass of 2.1 tonne, the spacecraft will provide 10 GHz of bandwidth, which will be equivalent to about 220 transponders of 36 MHz,” Satish pointed out.
The advanced satellite will employ a new 1-4K Bus (computer network). It will be configured with two-sided large solar array panels generating 11 KW of power.
In the run-up to GSAT-11, the space agency is scheduling the launch of other communications satellites in the GSAT series over the next two years.
“The two-tonne GSAT-4, slated for launch by this year on board GSLV-Mark II, will have a communication payload comprising multi-beam Ka-band pipe and regenerative transponder and navigation payload in C, L1 and L5 bands,” Satish said.
GSAT-4 will also carry a scientific payload, Tauvex, consisting of three ultra violet (UV) band telescopes developed by Tel Aviv University Israel
Propulsion with four stationary plasma thrusters, Bus Management Unit (BMU), miniaturised dynamically tuned gyros, 36 AH Lithium ion battery, 70 V bus for Ka-band and on board structural dynamic vibration beam accelerometer are some of the new technologies developed for GSAT-4.
“GSAT-4 spacecraft will a power generation capability of 2,500 watts and will be positioned at 82 degrees east longitude in a geo-stationary orbit, about 36,000 km above the earth,” the official said.
GSAT-1 was launched on board a technology demonstrator (GSLV-D1) April 18, 2001 as an experimental satellite for performance monitoring, tracking, range safety/flight safety and preliminary orbit determination.
GSAT-2 was launched May 8, 2003 and is located at 48 degrees east Longitude and carries four C-band transponders and two Ku-band transponders.
“The dedicated satellite for distance education (Edusat), launched in September 2004, is part of the GSAT series and can be considered as GSAT-3. Its transponders and their ground coverage are specially configured to cater to educational requirements,” Satish added.
The remaining spacecraft in GSAT series such as GSAT-5, GSAT-6 and GSAT-8 will be equated with INSAT-4 series of communication satellites. In the series, the government has not yet approved the development of GSAT-7 and GSAT-10 satellites.
GSAT-5 or INSAT-4D will be configured as an exclusive C-band communication satellite. It will carry 12 normal C-band transponders and six extended C-band transponders with wider coverage in uplink and downlink over Asia , Africa and Eastern Europe as well as zonal coverage.
GSAT-5 will be launched on board GSLV in 2010 and positioned at 82 degrees east longitude.
The two-tonne GSAT-6/INSAT-4E will have a multimedia mobile S-band transponder to provide entertainment and information services to consumers and vehicles through digital multimedia consoles and multimedia mobile phones. It is also slated for launch next year and will have a mission life of 12 years.
GSAT-8/INSAT-4G is proposed as a Ku-band satellite with 24 transponders similar to that of INSAT-4A and INSAT-4B.
“It will also carry the second GPS aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload,” Satish told IANS. “The satellite is expected to be launched in the second half of 2010 and will be positioned at 55 degrees east longitude.”
Indian Missile Agni-II
Features of Agni-II missile :-
1. Missile with a strike range of 3,000 km.
2. Two-stage weapon system powered by solid propellant.
3. It is 20 meters long and launch weight is 17 tonnes.
4. It can carry a one tonne pay-load (RDX and other).
Supersonic BrahMos cruise missile tested Successfully
The Indian Army Sunday successfully test fired the land attack version of the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile at the Pokhran test range in Rajasthan. The missile took off successfully and hit the “bull’s eye”, an official statement said. The missile, a joint venture of India Russia 11.15 a.m. Sunday.” Today (Sunday) land attack version of BrahMos block-II was tested from a mobile autonomous launcher at Pokhran test range by the Indian Army. The missile took off successfully and hit the desired target at bull’s eye meeting all mission parameters,” a statement issued by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said. This is the second launch this month and third this year for the block-II version for the army. In the first test, the missile failed to hit the target. The army kept the results of the second test under wraps even though DRDO termed it successful.” With this launch, the requirement of army for the land attack version with block-II advanced seeker software with target discriminating capabilities has been fully met and this version is ready for induction,” the statement said. According to the DRDO officials, the missile will provide an enhanced capability to the army for selection of a particular land target among a group of targets. The launch was witnessed by Director General Military Operations Lt. Gen. A.S. Sekhon, Commandant School of Artillery Lt. Gen. K.R. Rao and Additional Director General Artillery Maj. Gen. V.K. Tiwari along with other senior army officers. The CEO of BrahMos A. Sivathanu Pillai and other senior scientists were also present during the launch, the release added. Cruise missiles fly at low altitudes and have the ability to evade enemy radars and air-defense systems. They are also easier and cheaper to operate. The Indian Army has already begun inducting the land-fired version of the BrahMos, with the first battery entering service in June 2007. Each battery is equipped with four mobile launchers mounted on heavy 12×12 Tatra transporters. The army plans to induct three more such batteries. The anti-ship naval version has also been inducted into service with its integration on the destroyer INS Rajput, with two other ships of the same class to be similarly equipped. The missiles will also be mounted on the three 7,000 tonne Kolkata class destroyers currently being constructed at Mumbai’s Mazagon docks. The missile, which takes its name from the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers, has a 300-km range and carries a 300 kg conventional warhead. It can achieve speeds of up to 2.8 Mach or nearly three times the speed of sound.
India successfully tests Cryogenic rocket engine
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully conducted a test of its indigenous cryogenic (supercooled fuel) engine to be used in the next geosynchronous launch vehicle (GSLV-D3) mission, the space agency said here Saturday.” The flight acceptance hot test of the Cryogenic engine was carried out at the liquid propulsion systems centre at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu Thursday. This engine will be used in the next GSLV launch in April 2009 for carrying the 2.3-tonne geo-stationary experimental satellite (GSAT),” ISRO said in a statement. Cryogenic engines are rocket motors designed for liquid fuels that have to be held at very low ‘cryogenic’ temperatures, as they would otherwise be gas at normal temperatures. Typically, hydrogen and oxygen are used which need to be held respectively below 20 degrees Kelvin (-253 degrees Celsius) and 90 degrees Kelvin (-183 degrees Celsius) to remain in liquid form. ISRO plans to use its own first cryogenic engine in place of the Russian-made engine in the upper stage of the rocket that will deploy the satellite with navigation and technology payloads into the geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). The cryogenic engine develops a thrust of 73 kilo Newtons New Delhi Russia US
India tests ‘Swordfish’ radar with successful missile defence test
In a third successful test of its ambitious missile defence programme, Defence Research and Development Orgainsation (DRDO) scientists launched an indigenously developed interceptor missile that destroyed an incoming ballistic “enemy” missile at an altitude of 75 km. The missile firing will have also tested long-range capabilities of its indigenously developed Swordfish radar.
As part of the test, an ‘enemy’ missile was fired from a naval ship in the Bay of Bengal simulating the terminal phase of the flight of a ballistic missile with a range of 1,500 km. As the incoming missile neared the Wheeler Island off the Orissa coast, a Prithvi air defence missile was launched to intercept the ‘enemy’ missile at an altitude of about 75 km and ‘killed’ it, an official said.
The ‘enemy’ missile was a modified Dhanush surface-to-surface missile (SSM), which is the ship-borne, naval version of the Prithvi SSM.
This was the third BMD test in the series and would have involved testing the indigenously developed “Swordfish” long-range tracking radar. The ”Swordfish is an acknowledged derivative of the Israeli Green Pine long range radar, which is the critical component of that country’s Arrow missile defence system.
India had earlier imported two of these Israeli radars for its own use.
Earlier, in January, DRDO sources had said that a third test of the missile defence shield would involve both interceptor missiles and missile tracking radars.
While two earlier tests, in November 2006 and December 2007, successfully tested the Prithvi Air Defence (PAD -exo-atmospheric) and the Advanced Air Defence (AAD-endo-atmospheric) interceptor systems, the main thrust of the forthcoming tests would have been to validate the capabilities of the indigenously developed ‘Swordfish’ Long Range Tracking Radar (LRTR).
Swordfish is a target-acquisition and fire-control radar designed for the country’s missile defence system.
“The missile to be hit will be fired from a longer distance than it was in the earlier test. DRDO will test whether the radar can track the incoming missile from that distance or not,” officials had said in January.
The radar will be instrumental in tracking an incoming hostile missile which will be intercepted by the PAD exo-atmospheric interceptor missile at an altitude over 80 km from earth, defence sources had said.
The programme is aimed at providing the country with a credible missile defence shield – primarily against missiles fielded by hostile neighbours Pakistan and China.
The Pakistani Hatf and Ghauri missiles, essentially hand-me-down versions of Chinese and North Korean missiles, have been touted as being India-specific. These tests are meant to simulate trajectories of these family of missiles.
Yesterday scientists had said that the ‘enemy’ missile would be a modified version of the Dhanush surface-to-surface missile and would simulate the terminal phase of the flight of a ballistic missile with a range of 1,500 km, similar to Pakistan’s Ghauri missile.
“As the incoming missile nears Wheeler Island, a Prithvi air defence missile will be launched to intercept it at an altitude of about 80 km and kill it,” the official added.
Scientists had also indicated yesterday that DRDO would need to carry out at least three to four further trials with both the endo and exo-atmospheric versions of the missile shield before declaring it operational.
“The test will mark the completion of the first phase of the programme and it will secure operational clearance by 2012-13,” a scientist said.
Interestingly, though baptised as the Prithvi Air Defence system, the interceptor has now been renamed Pradyumna.
DRDO has affirmed that its system would be superior to the Russian S-300 and the American Patriot systems, both of which systems have been offered to India by its manufacturers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
