(Current Affairs) Science & Technology, Defence, Environment | June: 2015

Science & Technology, Defense, Environment

PSLV-C27 Successfully Launches India’s Fourth Navigation Satellite IRNSS-1D

  • ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C27, successfully launched the 1425 kg IRNSS-1D, the fourth satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. This is the twenty eighth consecutively successful mission of the PSLV. The ‘XL’ configuration of PSLV was used for this mission. Previously, the same configuration of the vehicle was successfully used seven times.

  • IRNSS-1D is the fourth of the seven satellites constituting the space segment of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. IRNSS-1A, 1B and 1C, the first three satellites of the constellation, were successfully launched by PSLV on July 02, 2013, April 04, 2014 and October 16, 2014 respectively. All the three satellites are functioning satisfactorily from their designated orbital positions.

  • IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland. IRNSS would provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Services (SPS) - provided to all users - and Restricted Services (RS), provided to authorised users.

  • In the coming months, the next satellite of this constellation, namely,IRNSS-1E, is scheduled to be launched by PSLV. The entire IRNSS constellation of seven satellites is planned to be completed by 2016.
    Researchers Discovers Rare Huntsman and Jumping Spider in the Western Ghats

  • Researchers have discovered rare huntsman and jumping spider in the Western Ghats belong to the Sparassidae and Salticidae families. They were discovered by the research team of arachnologists led by Dr. P.A. Sebastian, Director of the Division of Arachnology in Sacred Heart College, Kochi in Kerala.

  • Huntsman spider- It was sighted at Ponmudi, Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala. These spiders are known for their speed and unique hunting mode. Sometimes they hide in the ambush and surprise the prey. Some of these spiders make a substrate-borne sound when they detect a chemical left by a nearby female of their species.

  • Jumping spider- It was sighted at the Malayattoor and Bhoothathankettu reserve forest. These spiders jump from one place to another like a grasshopper. The jumping spider was given the name Stenaelurillus albus due to the presence of a unique whitish area on the copulatory organ of the male spider. The discovery is considered unique as only 17 species of jumping spider having mating plugs have been reported of the approximate 5,800 jumping spiders recorded.

Union Government Give its nod to build AWACS

  • Union Government on 27 Mach 2015 gave its approval to build crore strategic project of next-generation Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS). Decision in this regard was taken by Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. DAC gave its nod for two AWACS, which includes buying two Airbus A330s, worth 5,113 crore rupees. Airbus was the lone bidder for the programme.

Indian AEW&C System

The indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) is an effort to evolve a compact state-of-the-art airborne surveillance system for the Indian Airforce to mark a significant contribution to Defence preparedness by the DRDO with CABS (Bangalore) spearheading the programme as a nodal agency. The indigenous AEW&C is a multi-sensor system on a executive jet aircraft providing for all aspects of airborne surveillance.

The Capabilities, Operational Role & Functional Requirements: The Indian AEW&C system will detect, identify and classify threats present in the surveillance area and act as a Command and Control Centre to support Air Defence operations, like AWACS. The system with its multiple Communication and Data Links can alert and direct fighters against threats while providing ?Recognizable Air Surveillance Picture? (RASP) to commanders at the Ground Exploitation Stations (GES) that are strategically located. The AEW&C system can thus support Air Force in offensive strike missions and assist Forces in the tactical battle area. Besides, the Electronic and Communication Support Measures of the system can intercept and gather ELINT/COMINT from radar transmissions and communication signals. The AEW&C is a multi-sensor surveillance system that can perform the following operational roles as defined by the IAF:

  • Air Space management

  • Detection of Air-Borne and Surface targets

  • Electronic Intelligence

  • Detection, Identification, Threat Assessment and Interception of Airborne threat

9th Edition of Earth Hour

  • To show their growing concern over climate change, people all over the globe observed the ninth edition of Earth Hour on (March 28, 2015) by switching off their lights.

  • All the electrical appliances were put off for one hour between 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm in order to increase awareness. Earth Hour is an annual campaign started by the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature/World Wildlife Fund).

  • The campaign pushes for households and business establishments across the world to turn off their non-essential lights and electrical appliances for an hour at the selected time to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.

About Earth Hour

  • Earth Hour is a worldwide grassroots movement uniting people to protect the planet, and is organised by WWF. Earth Hour was famously started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007.

  • Earth Hour aims to encourage an interconnected global community to share the opportunities and challenges of creating a sustainable world.

  • Earth Hour only asks people to turn off the non-essential lights for one hour - not lights that affect public safety. Earth Hour is also a celebration of the planet so it’s important to enjoy the moment in a safe environment.

  • Earth Hour event always held in late March, because last weekend of March is around the time of the Spring and Autumn equinoxes in the northern and southern hemispheres respectively, which allows for near coincidental sunset times in both hemispheres, thereby ensuring the greatest visual impact for a global ‘lights out’ event.

  • Earth Hour came from a think tank initiated by Earth Hour CEO and Co-Founder, Andy Ridley, resulting in the formation of a partnership between WWF Australia, Leo Burnett and Fairfax Media to address the climate change issue.

  • The standard Earth Hour ‘60’ logo represents the 60 minutes of Earth Hour where we focus on the impact we are having on our planet and take positive action to address the environmental issues we face. For Earth Hour 2011 the ‘60+’ logo was introduced representing a commitment to add to Earth Hour a positive act for the planet that goes beyond the hour. Take up the ‘plus’ and get involved with Earth Hour Blue.

  • WWF Uganda started the world’s first Earth Hour Forest

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