INDIA ISRO's communication satellite lifts off.

The GSLV-F08 rocket saddled with the passenger satellite in its payload fairing blasted off from the second launch pad at 4.56 pm. Leaving behind plumes of smoke, the 49.1 metre tall GSLV soared majestically into clear skies, carrying the 2,140 kg GSAT-6A satellite to be injected into a geostationary orbit at a height of about 36,000 km.

The satellite was launched from the space port of Sriharikota, about 110 kms from Chennai.The Launch of GSLV-F08 marks the 12th flight of  Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV-F08 and sixth flight with indigenous Cryogenic upper stage.

GSAT-6A, is similar to GSAT-6, a high power S-band communication satellite built on I-2K satellite bus with a mission life of about ten years, it said.A key feature of the satellite is providing mobile communication to India through multi beam coverage facility.

The satellite will also provide a platform for developing technologies such as demonstration of 6 m S-Band Unfurlable Antenna, handheld ground terminals and network management techniques that could be useful in satellite based mobile communication applications.

Celebrate Pi Day 2018 with NASA's Tasty 'Pi in the Sky' Math Challenge

NASA is inviting the public to celebrate Pi Day (March 14) by sharing a series of cosmic calculations for kids and adults to solve.

The "Pi in the Sky" challenge was created by the Education Office of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, and is now in its fifth year. The challenge will feature math problems to calculate for Martian earthquakes, helium rain on Jupiter and the rotation rate of the first interstellar visitor ever discovered, asteroid 'Oumuamua. The topics of last year's Pi Day challenge included craters with butterfly-shaped ejecta, or tossed material, and the total solar eclipse.

Pi is a number whose digits go on forever, but it's most popularly known by the first three: 3.14 (hence March 14). It is a mathematical constant often denoted by the symbol π. Pi comes in handy when determining the circumference or the surface area of a round celestial body. It also helps engineers and scientists program the precise orbits of satellites and spacecraft. such as the impressive pirouettes the Cassini spacecraft performed before its "death dive."


Ota Lutz, a senior education specialist at JPL, believes everyone should attempt the Pi Day Challenge, even if they aren't familiar with these math tools. Students in grades 5 through 12 are especially invited to participate, and JPL offers resources for educators who want to use the math problems in their classrooms.

"All of the problems in the 'Pi in the Sky' challenge are real problems that JPL scientists and engineers solve using pi," Lutz said in a statement.

Solutions to the illustrated questions will be posted on March 15, according to NASA. Pi Daychallenge problems from previous years can be found on the website(https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/edu/nasapidaychallenge/), too.

World’s first rotating skyscraper in Dubai

First announced back in 2008 before being put on hold, Dynamic Architecture’s rotating skyscraperproject has been rekindled.

The apartments would be able to rotate individually. Courtesy Dynamic Architecture

 

 

 

 

Dubai is full of jaw-dropping views from its myriad of skyscrapers, but for those who demand a fresh panorama without moving to a new home there could be a solution.

First announced back in 2008 before being put on hold, Dynamic Architecture’s rotating skyscraper project has been rekindled.

The idea is that the building, known as the Dynamic Tower, will be built in four dimensions and will constantly change shape.

“It will never look the same,” said Israeli-Italian architect David Fisher, speaking recently on Your Discover Science channel on YouTube.

“The floor is rotating very smoothly. You don’t hear anything,” he said.

How would this work? According to Mr Fisher, each apartment would be able to independently rotate 360 degrees, with the speed adjustable.

A stationary core would be built containing the elevator, with the apartments connected onto the centrepiece.

Perhaps most remarkably of all, the project is planned to have no electricity costs as wind turbines would be placed between the floor of each storey.


“It is a green power station. It will power the entire building,” said Mr Fisher.

It is also planned to be the world’s first pre-fabricated skyscraper, whereby individual units are built off site, including plumbing and electrical connections, before being hung from the central core.

Customising your own view is envisioned to come at a heavy financial cost, however, with as much as US$30 million quoted in the programme.

Details of when the project could begin and where it may be located have not yet been given.

The UAE is home to a number of rotating restaurants, and there were separate plans for a rotating residence in Dubai.

In 2015 it was confirmed that High Rise Properties’ Dh250m Rotating Residence had been cancelled.

The 16-storey freehold rotating tower consisting of four town houses and retail areas in Jumeirah Village South was due for completion in 2008.

Moon to get its own mobile phone network next year

The mobile phone network will enable high-definition streaming from the lunar surface back to earth.(NASA)

Vodafone Germany, Nokia and Audi are working on this project together.

The moon will get its first mobile phone network next year, enabling high-definition streaming from the lunar landscape back to earth, part of a project to back the first privately funded moon mission.

Vodafone Germany, network equipment maker Nokia and carmaker Audi said on Tuesday they were working together to support the mission, 50 years after the first NASA astronauts walked on the moon.

Vodafone said it had appointed Nokia as its technology partner to develop a space-grade network which would be a small piece of hardware weighing less than a bag of sugar.

The companies are working with Berlin-based company PTScientists on the project, with a launch scheduled in 2019 from Cape Canaveral on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Vodafone said.


“This project involves a radically innovative approach to the development of mobile network infrastructure,” Vodafone Germany Chief Executive Hannes Ametsreiter said.

One executive involved said the decision to build a 4G network rather a state-of-the-art 5G network was taken because the next generation networks remain in the testing and trial stage and are not stable enough to ensure they would work from the lunar surface.

Apple may offer rebate to users who bought full-price batteries

After a US senator asked Apple questions about its controversial decision to quietly slow the performance of older iPhones, the Cupertino-headquartered company replied that it may offer rebates to users who paid full price for a battery replacement.

"Apple told a US senator it is 'exploring' whether to offer a rebate to customers who paid full-price for a battery replacement," CNET reported late on Tuesday.

Senator John Thune, the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, had sent a letter to Apple with several follow-up questions, including whether customers who purchased batteries at full-price might be compensated.

"The company has also promised the committee some follow-up information, including an answer about additional steps it may take to address customers who purchased a new battery at full price," Thune was quoted as saying by CNET.

Apple faced a backlash after it admitted last month that it used software updates to limit the performance of older iPhone models, including the iPhone 6, iPhone 6S, iPhone SE and iPhone 7.

The tech giant used software updates to slow down the performance of some iPhones, a decision the company defended by saying it prevented devices from erratically shutting down.

The goal, according to the company, was to "smooth out" peak power demands and prevent older iPhones from sudden shutdowns as their lithium-ion batteries degrade. But it resulted in a disappointing performance for users, according to CNN.