SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AFFAIRS MAY 2015
- Astra missiles test-fired successfully
Astra was successfully launched from Su-30 MKI fighter jet in two developmental trials conducted at the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, Odisha on 20th May.
In the first trial, the supersonic missile was released when the fighter jet was performing a “very high-g manoeuvre.” In the second trial, the g manoeuvre was higher than in the first exercise.
The extreme conditions were simulated for the missile’s launch in both trials when it was released at very low and very high altitudes. DRDO scientists plan to conduct another trial on Thursday to prove the long range capability of the missile.
With these tests, seven developmental trials were conducted and the missile is expected to be inducted by 2016 after a few more tests. The 3.8-metre tall Astra is a radar homing missile and one of the smallest weapon systems developed by the DRDO. - India on 6th position in terms of scientific publications
India has reached sixth position in terms of scientific publications. Department of Science and Technology 21st May said that India elevated from tenth to sixth position in terms of publishing scientific research papers in different journals. - Everest glaciers may disappear by 2100: Study
Scientists on 27th May warned that glaciers in the Everest region of the Himalayas can shrink at least 70 per cent or even disappear entirely by the end of the century if greenhouse-gas emissions continue to rise. A team of researchers in Nepal, France and the Netherlands have found that the Everest glaciers can be very sensitive to future warming. They have predicted that sustained ice loss through the 21st century is likely. The signal of future glacier change in the region is clear. The glacier model used by Shea and his team shows that glacier volume could be reduced between 70 per cent and 99 percent by 2100. - Nod for PSLV programme
The Union Cabinet on 21st May gave its approval for Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) Continuation Programme of 15 operational flights of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C36 to PSLV-C50. The total fund requirement is Rs 3,090 crore and includes the cost of 15 PSLV vehicles, Programme Elements, Programme Management and Launch Campaign.
All the fifteen operational flights would be completed during the period 2017-2020. With the recent successful launch of PSLV-C26 on 16th October 2014, PSLV has completed three developmental and twenty-five operational flights and the last twenty-seven flights have been successively successful
In India, the launch vehicle development programme began in the early 1970s. The first experimental Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-3) was developed in 1980. An Augmented version of this, ASLV, was launched successfully in 1992. India has made tremendous strides in launch vehicle technology to achieve self-reliance in satellite launch vehicle programme with the operationalisation of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).
PSLV is capable of launching 1600 kg satellites in 620 km sun-synchronous polar orbit and 1050 kg satellite in geo-synchronous transfer orbit. In the standard configuration, it measures 44.4 m tall, with a lift off weight of 295 tonnes. PSLV has four stages using solid and liquid propulsion systems alternately. The first stage is one of the largest solid propellant boosters in the world and carries 139 tonnes of propellant. A cluster of six strap-ons attached to the first stage motor, four of which are ignited on the ground and two are air-lit.
The reliability rate of PSLV has been superb. With its variant configurations, PSLV has proved its multi-payload, multi-mission capability in a single launch and its geosynchronous launch capability. In the Chandrayaan mission, another variant of PSLV with an extended version of strap-on motors, PSOM-XL, the payload haul was enhanced to 1,750 kg in 620 km SSPO. PSLV has rightfully earned the status of workhorse launch vehicle of ISRO. As of 2014 the PSLV has launched 71 spacecraft (31 Indian and 40 foreign satellites) into a variety of orbits.4 Some notable payloads launched by PSLV include India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar probe and the Mars Orbiter Mission. - Hidden world of ocean's tiniest organisms revealed
The hidden world of the ocean's tiniest organisms has been revealed in a series of papers published in the journal Science. An international team has been studying samples of plankton collected during a three-year global expedition.
They have so far found 35,000 species of bacteria, 5,000 new viruses and 150,000 single-celled plants and creatures. They believe that the majority of these are new to science. Planktonic organisms are minute, but together they make up 90 per cent of the mass of all of the marine life in the oceans. - India @ 24 in environmental index
Washington-based World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Access Initiative on 20 May 2015 released the first Environmental Democracy Index (EDI) for the year 2015. The index evaluates the environmental democracy in 70 countries based on recognised international standards.
The index evaluates whether Governments are enacting national laws to promote transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement in environmental decision making. It is assessed and analysed by more than 140 international lawyers and experts.
India was ranked at 24th position out of 70 countries in the first Environmental Democracy Index that is topped by Lithuania at the first position, Latvia at the second and Russia at the third position. - National conference on Nuclear energy
The 6th National Conference on Nuclear Energy was organized by ASSOCHAM in New Delhi on 15th May. The theme of the conference was “Nuclear Energy: a ‘Clean’ Energy option”.
The conference discussed the issue related to the status of Nuclear Energy in India. India is on course to double its nuclear power generation capacity to more than 10,000 mega watts (MW) over the next five years i.e. 2020.
Nuclear power plants account for 3.5% of India’s current electricity generation, and its share in India’s future electricity generation will be less than 10% even if the installed capacity is tripled. However, along with other sources of energy such as hydropower and solar-power, it will play a role in reducing India’s reliance on coal for generating electricity.
According to R.K. Sinha, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission the nuclear energy is the clean and green source of energy and it is a good option for energy if per capita consumption of power in India has to be increased.
A Panel discussion on various issues such as contribution of nuclear energy to the decarbonisation of power sector, nuclear energy expansion & “Make in India” and Climate change & the future of nuclear energy was also held at the conference. - Opah, the world's first warm-blooded fish species
Fish found in waters off US, Australia and several other countries has developed an internal ‘heat exchange’ system
The Opah is the first fish species found to be fully warm-blooded, circulating heated blood throughout its body much like mammals and birds, research has revealed.
The fish, found in the waters off the US, Australia and several other countries, generates heat by constantly flapping its fins and has developed an internal “heat exchange” system within its gills to conserve the warmth.
This adaptation means warm blood that leaves the opah’s body core helps heat cold blood returning from the surface of the gills where it absorbs oxygen, maintaining an average body temperature of about 4C to 5C.
This system, likened by scientists to a car radiator, is similar to that used by mammals and birds, which are known as endotherms for their ability to maintain body temperature independent of the environment
While tuna and some sharks can warm certain parts of their bodies, such as their brains and eyes, fish are generally classed among cold-blooded animals, known as ectotherms.
Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration discovered the opah’s unusual internal system after analysing samples of gill tissue from fish captured off the west coast of the US. Because it can warm its body, it turns out to be a very active predator
Opahs, which are an oval-shaped fish roughly the size of a car tyre, use this adaptation to become more effective predators. It swims faster, reacts more quickly and sees more sharply than the other marine life that, like the opah, dwell 50m to 400m underwater, NOAA said. - North Korea test-fired Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile
North Korea on 8 May 2015 successfully test-fired a newly developed Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM). The nation described the missile as a world level strategic weapon. The underwater ballistic missile that will meet the latest military science and technology requirements of the country was test-fired after Leader Kim Jong-Un gave the order to test-fire the missile. He also watched its launch from attack submarine. - Rare hyena sighted in Kawal Tiger Reserve
A rare Hyena has been sighted in Kawal Tiger Reserve in Adilabad district. The image of a striped hyena captured on camera at Alinagar, Dongapalli and Mallial in Kawal Tiger Reserve (KTR) in Adilabad has sent a wave of cheer among those who are working towards improvement of the habitat to bring back tigers.
The hyena has appeared just when everyone concerned thought that it is extinct in Telangana or Andhra Pradesh, for that matter. - Army inducts indigenously-built Akash missile
The indigenously built Akash Air Defense system has been inducted into the Army with Army Chief General Dalbir Singh receiving its symbolic key from the CMD of Bharat Dynamics Limited on 5th May. Akash is capable to engage a wide variety of aerial threats like aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles up to a maximum range of 25 km and up to an altitude of 20 km. - Advanced version of BrahMos test-fired
An advanced version of the BrahMos land-attack cruise missile was successfully test-fired on 9th May from the Car Nicobar Islands
The land-to-land configuration of BrahMos was launched from a Mobile Autonomous Launcher (MAL) for its full-range of 290-km. This is the 48th test firing of the missile. This test met all flight parameters, including high-level maneuvers. A similar test was concluded successfully on 8th May too. The BrahMos missile has been jointly developed by India and Russia.
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