July 2012 Science and Technology

Russia’s Soyuz-FG Carrier rocket set Five Satellites into Orbit: Russia's Soyuz-FG carrier rocket set off from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan on 22 July 2012. The rocket will put the Russian satellites Canopus-B and MKA-PN1, a Belarusian BKA satellite, the Canadian ADS-1B and German TET-1 into orbit. The Canopus-B satellite, developed by the All-Russia Research Institute of Electromechanics, is designed for remote sensing of the Earth. It weighs about 400 kg and will work on a circular orbit at a height of 510 km. The MKA-PN1 satellite, developed by Russia's NPO Lavochkin aerospace company, will collect data to help meteorologists build models of ocean circulation - particularly in Arctic waters along Russian shores - and climate dynamics. The German TET-1 satellite, a part of the German Aerospace Center's On-Orbit Verification Program, will conduct a test on new space technologies. The ADS-1B satellite, built by the Com Dev aerospace company, will form part of a ship-identification satellite system.

Drug for HIV infection ‘Truvada’: A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel of outside experts recommended Gilead Sciences Inc's “Truvada” as a treatment for preventing HIV infection among people at risk for contracting AIDS, including homosexual and bisexual men. In a move that could lead to a new milestone for treatment in the evolution of the worldwide AIDS epidemic, the FDA advisory committee voted 19-3 to endorse the drug's use for controlling HIV infection among the highest risk group -- men who have sex with men.

Sunita Williams begins her second space odyssey: A Russian Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft carrying three astronauts including Sunita Williams, the Indian-American astronaut, took-off for the international space station on 15 July 2012 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Three astronauts on board including Sunita Williams, Russian Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Japan flight engineer Akihiko Hoshide will take two days to reach to the International space station. NASA’s space shuttle programme came to an end in July 2011, which left US astronauts dependent on Russian Soyuz spacecrafts for ferrying to the International Space Station. The Soyuz launch marked the 37th anniversary of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project that opened the door to US-Russian cooperation in space science. Sunita Williams, the Indian-American astronaut, was born on 19 September 1965 in Euclid, Ohio and was raised in Massachusetts in US. She joined NASA in June 1998.Previously she served as a flight engineer on board the International Space Station. She launched with the crew of STS-116 on 9 December 2006, docking with the station on 11 December 2006.

Sunita Williams reached ISS: Record-setting Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams along with two other cosmonauts on 17th July, successfully docked their Soyuz spacecraft with the International Space Station (ISS) for a four-month long stay during which they will conduct over 30 scientific missions. The 46-year-old NASA astronaut Williams, Russian Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency flight engineer Akihiko Hoshide arrived at the ISS after two days in orbit. The crew took off to the ISS successfully from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 15th July, for a four-month long mission to the space station.This is the second space mission for Williams. She also holds the record of the longest spaceflight -- 195 days -- for woman space travellers. The crew, which will return home in mid-November, is expected to conduct over 30 scientific missions during their stay aboard the ISS

Pearls can now be of help in treating cancer:Pearls rich in essential minerals can help treat killer diseases like cancer, a leading scientist has claimed. In a series of experiments by Ajai Kumar Sonkar at the Pearl Aquaculture Research Foundation in Port Blair, pearls produced through special culture technique have been found to contain traces of several metals and minerals, which are known to have major health benefits.

Sunita Williams reached ISS: Record-setting Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams along with two other cosmonauts on 17th July, successfully docked their Soyuz spacecraft with the International Space Station (ISS) for a four-month long stay during which they will conduct over 30 scientific missions. The 46-year-old NASA astronaut Williams, Russian Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency flight engineer Akihiko Hoshide arrived at the ISS after two days in orbit. The crew took off to the ISS successfully from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on 15th July, for a four-month long mission to the space station.This is the second space mission for Williams. She also holds the record of the longest spaceflight -- 195 days -- for woman space travellers. The crew, which will return home in mid-November, is expected to conduct over 30 scientific missions during their stay aboard the ISS

Stealth warship 'INS Sahyadri' commissioned: Indigenously built stealth warship `INS Sahyadri' was commissioned in the Indian Navy on 21 July, adding firepower to its anti-submarine warfare capabilities. The frigate, last in the series of stealth warships after `INS Shivalik' and `INS Satpura', was commissioned by Defence Minister A K Antony at the Naval dockyard here in presence of Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma and senior Naval officials. INS Sahyadri is the last warship of `Project-17' undertaken by the Navy.

Scientists identified First Radio Waves from Middleweight Black Hole HLX-1:
A team of scientists at the University of Sydney on 10 July 2012 discovered the first radio emissions from the middleweightblack hole HLX-1, that lies in a galaxy about 300 million light-years away. The research team had used Compact Array radio telescope from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). HLX-1 (hyper-luminous X-ray source 1), lies in a galaxy called ESO 243-49 about 300 million light-years away. As per the new study, the size of HLX-1 is around 20000 times the mass of our sun which makes it an intermediate mass black hole.

NASA's claim of 'arsenic life' disproved The claim by NASA scientists that they have discovered a new form of bacteria which thrive on arsenic has been disapproved by two new studies, which say the bugs can't substitute arsenic for phosphorus to survive. Two scientific papers, published in the journal Science, refuted the 2010 NASA finding that bacterium called GFAJ-1 not only tolerates arsenic but actually incorporates the poison into its DNA, swapping out phosphorus. "Contrary to an original report, the new research clearly shows that the bacterium, GFAJ-1, cannot substitute arsenic for phosphorus to survive," the journal said.

Nuclear capable Agni-I test-fired India successfully tested domestically built nuclear capable surface-to-surface Agni-I ballistic missile on 13 July. The missile was launched from a test range at Wheeler Island off Odisha coast. The missile was launched by the strategic force command of Indian Army. With a specialised navigation system, the Agni-I can hit the target with accuracy and precision. The 15-metre-long Agni-I, can carry payload up to 1000 kg.Agni-I was developed under the joint work of advanced systems laboratory, the missile development laboratory of the DRDO, Defence Research Development Laboratory and Research Centre Imarat, while it was integrated by Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad.

Sunita Williams begins her second space odyssey: Indian-American record-setting astronaut Sunita Williams, along with her two colleagues, took off for her second space odyssey on a Russian Soyuz rocket, which blasted off successfully from a cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on15th July. Forty-six-year-old NASA astronaut Ms. Williams, Russian Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency flight engineer Akihiko Hoshide started their two-day voyage at 08:10 a.m. IST for a four-month mission on the International Space Station (ISS). Russia's Federal Space Agency Roscosmos announced that the spacecraft had departed successfully from the carrier rocket and reached intermediate orbit. Born in Euclid in Ohio and raised in Massachusetts, Ms. Williams, who had earlier lived and worked aboard the ISS for six months in 2006-07, will further extend the record for the longest stay in space for a woman astronaut.

A Soyuz space capsule carrying a three-man multinational crew touched down safely on the southern steppes of Kazakhstan on 30th June, bringing an end to their 193-day mission to the International Space Station. Around a dozen recovery helicopters zeroed into the vast uncultivated land mass, where NASA astronaut Donald Pettit, Russia's Oleg Kononenko and Dutchman Andre Kuipers landed in the Russian-made capsule. Russian space officials quickly surrounded the craft, which performed a perfect upright textbook landing, and erected ladders to begin the process of pulling out the astronauts.

UNESCO, the science and cultural body of UN, listed India's 1600-km long Western Ghats mountain in the world heritage sites on 1 June 2012. The Western Ghats mountain chain is globally renowned for its enormous biological diversity. The mountain's chain, which are older than the Himalaya, are widely responsible for the Indian monsoon weather pattern.The Western Ghats are also considered to be one of the world's eight hottest hotspots of biological diversity.

Iran on 3 July 2012, test-fired a medium range ballistic missile Shahab-3. The Shahab-3 has a range of up to 2000 kilometres. The Shahab-1 and Shahab-2, the two short-range missiles, with ranges of 300 to 500 kilometres, were also launched.The missile launch was the part of Iran's Great Prophet 7 exercise. Great Prophet 7 exercise was announced by Iran on 1 July 2012 in the wake of latest European Union sanctions on Iran. The exercise, which involved test of dozens of missiles and domestically-built drones came following European Union's decision to ban the purchase of Iranian crude oil. The EU's decision is the clear repurcussion of failed dialogue held between Iran and world powers on Iran's ambitious nuclear programme.

Scientists at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, on 4 July 2012, discovered a new sub-atomic particle called Higgs Boson or God's Particle. The new discovery is being considered as a gateway to a new era in understanding the universe's great mysteries including dark matter.Scientists had predicted the existence of Higgs Boson, which is also referred to as God's Particle, in 1964. The particle was named Higgs Boson after Peter Higgs and Indian physicist Satyendra Nath Bose. The term God particle was first used by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leon Lederman.