The Gist of Science Reporter: November 2014
ISRO’s Soaring ROCKET, INDIA’S SOARING PRIDE
The launch of India’s PSLV-C23 rocket was delayed by the
prospect of satellite debris hurtling through space crashing into it. But
eventually the Indian Space Research Organisation’s workhorse Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle PSLV-C23 lifted off from the First Launch Pad at the Satish
Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 9.52 am on 30 June 2014. It carried with
it five satellites from four foreign countries. And between 17 and 19 minutes
after liftoff, the PSLV placed all the five satellites into their intended
orbits.
The probable space debris was from the 2011 collision of a US
satellite and a Russian satellite at altitudes above 600 km. The two objects
identified three days before the launch were 15 cm to 20 cm across. Travelling
at great speeds, space debris measuring even a few inches across can damage
spacecraft. However, with a delay of three minutes PSLV-C23 successfully avoided
the debris without affecting the mission because it had a launch window period
of 20 minutes. Since debris in space moves at a velocity of several kilometers
per second, by slightly delaying the launch the objects can be avoided by
thousands of kilometers.
With the successful insertion into orbit of all the five
satellites riding on PSLV-C23, ISRO has notched up an impressive total of 40
foreign satellites from 19 countries that it has successfully launched so far,
earning substantial sums of foreign exchange for the country. The countries
include Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany,
Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Singapore, Switzerland, The
Netherlands, Turkey and United Kingdom.
The primary payload of PSLV-C23 consisted of the 714 kg
French Earth Observation Satellite SPOT-7. Built by Airbus Defence and Space, a
leading European space technology company, SPOT-7 is identical to SPOT-6
launched earlier by PSLV-C21 in September 2012.
Along with the primary payload, PSLV-C23 also carried and
placed in orbit the 14 kg AISAT, a nano satellite of Germany, for global sea
traffic monitoring. It has been fitted with an array of antennas that will
receive transponder signals during sea rescue operations. Two other satellites
were NLS7.1 (CAN-X4) and NLS7.2 (CAN-X5) of Canada each weighing 15 kg whose
primary objective is researching whether satellites can be designed to
facilitate sub-metre tracking error accuracy. And finally, PSLV-C23 also placed
into orbit the 7 kg VELOX-1 of Singapore, which is a technology demonstrator for
the Singapore-based Nanyang Technological University’s Undergraduate Satellite
Program, designed to provide students with real-world aerospace experience.
The textbook precision launch of the five satellites on board PSLV-C23 has
once again reinforced ISRO’s commanding position as a leading space agency in
the world, making India proud.
Menthol Cigarettes Also Harmful
More and more young people are choosing menthol cigarette
today with the belief that it is safer than non-menthol cigarette. However,
menthol cigarettes too are known to cause diseases like lung cancer,
cardiovascular diseases (atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, arrhythmias)
and respiratory diseases (lung cancer, chronic bronchitis etc).
A recent study published in Cancer Causes and Control found
that menthol users smoked an average of 43 cigarettes a week, close to double
the 26 smoked by non-menthol users. The study also found that menthol smokers
are more addictive than non-menthol smokers. While smoking menthol cigarettes,
the pleasant, cooling sensation causes the user to inhale more tobacco smoke
with each drag. Menthol smokers thereby take in high concentration of nicotine
than non-menthol smokers. As a result, menthol cigarette smokers may have higher
frequency of smoking related sicknesses and become more quickly addicted and
also may smoke more cigarettes than those who smoke non-mentholated cigarettes.
Smoking poses a big risk especially among those who start
smoking cigarettes regularly in their teenage years. It also harms people who
are exposed to it passively. Menthol cigarettes have also been shown to inhibit
nicotine metabolisation, leading to increased systemic nicotine exposure.
Two Day Seminar at NIAS, Banglore When Science Meets the Public: Bridging
the Gap
A Politician once famously exhorted his followers not to vote
for the ruling party since the dam it had built had squeezed out all energy from
the water. Yet another chief minister is known to have consulted an astrologer
when a super cyclone was heading towards the shores. The astrologer predicted
that the cyclone would break into two and so there was nothing to worry about.
Hundreds died as the cyclone hit the state.
