Citizen Journalist: media

Showing posts with label media. Show all posts

Monday, October 31, 2022

India eyes its own space station by 2035, ISRO wants industry to collaborate

ISRO Chairman S Somanath revealed that India wants its own space station by 2035. The Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO was working on the design of the rocket. It would like the industry to collaborate with it in the development of a reusable rocket. This rocket should be capable of carrying heavier payloads into orbit. The Next-Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) should be capable of carrying a 10 tonne payload in the Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) or 20 tonnes to the low earth orbit. ISRO was working on the design of the rocket and the intention is to bring “industry along in the development process. All the money need not be invested by us. We want the industry to invest to create this rocket for all of us." That is what S Somanath told to a section of the media. ISRO eyes next generation launch vehicle for heavier payloads. Another official of ISRO added that the new rocket would be helpful because India plans to have its own space station by 2035. It was also eyeing deep space missions, human space flights, cargo missions and putting multiple communication satellites into orbit at the same time.

The NGLV would be simple and robust machine. Its design would be for bulk manufacturing in order to bring economy into operations related to space transportation. Somanath also said the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) has been the warhorse of ISROs rocket but its technology is outdated and not suitable for launch rockets in the future. ISRO plans to have the design of the NGLV ready within a year and offer it to the industry for production, with the first launch tentatively scheduled for 2030. The NGLV could be a three-stage rocket powered by green fuel combinations such as methane and liquid oxygen or kerosene and liquid oxygen.

Monday, October 10, 2022

Hundreds of pilot whales stranded on remote island off the east coast of New Zealand

Pitt Island is the second-largest island in the Chatham archipelago. This is about 500 miles east of the country's mainland. Nearly 250 pilot whales are stranded on this remote island off the east coast of New Zealand. It has happened within a few days of each other. During the weekend, most of the whales died while the remaining had to be put down since there was little chance of their survival. An official of Project Jonah revealed to a section of the media that two mass stranding within a few days was "not unheard of." However, the remoteness of the islands made things difficult to rescue them. Usually such cases involve massive community effort with hundreds of people. Unfortunately, the population of Pitt Island is only 40 people. It was totally inadequate to tend to such a number of whales. Hundreds of pilot whales stranded off remote islands in New Zealand.

Mass whale stranding is not new to the Chathams. The largest was in 1918, when an estimated 1,000 whales died. Later in 2000, more than 100 whales and dolphins died after being stranded on the islands. The reasons for such behavior are not known but experts do not rule out possibilities of links to environmental factors.in some parts of the world the water is too shallow for whales to navigate. This is because their echo-location ability is designed for deep water. Moreover, mass stranding are more common among highly social species. These include pilot whales. Their herding instinct means the group can move together even if one member is sick or compromised. At times, these result in their stranding. Incidentally, these bonds can be strong. Therefore, the sick whales have to be revived before the healthy ones are re-floated. In case that does not happen, the healthy whales could hear the sick ones calling and re-beach themselves to be together.

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

A dry spell in Wales reveals a 19th century village submerged underwater

We have heard about the lost city of Atlantis. A dry spell in Powys, Wales has now revealed a 19th century village that was submerged underwater. It was in ruins. The water in Lake Vyrnwy, a reservoir, had evaporated and exposed the remains of the village Llanwddyn. Local media says the remnants of the village had come to light during the drought of 1976. The long duration of scorching and record-breaking high temperatures across the UK, has led to such a state. A reservoir like Lake Vyrnwy has been left high and dry. The UK Met Office says Wales had been experiencing record temperatures. On July 18, it reached 37.1 degrees C in the northeastern county of Flintshire. This works out to 98.8 degrees F about 45 miles from Lake Vyrnwy. Drought reveals Welsh village submerged by reservoir in 19th century. A photographer revealed to a section of the media that portions of the village became visible a week ago. He happens to have lived in central Wales for many years and has visited the lake on multiple occasion in the past.

It seems there is a bridge on the road and it went over the stream in the village. Back in the 1800s, it used to be flooded. Now, because of the dry spell, it is visible after 140 years. The stumps of trees that lined the road stand as proof. So are the gateposts and remnants of the houses and village walls. Lake Vyrnwy used to be the largest artificial reservoir in Europe. It took 10 years to build and was completed in 1891. Its purpose was to supply fresh water to the north England city of Liverpool. A company that manages the water and waste says the village had a Parish church, a couple of chapels, three inns, 10 farmhouses and 37 houses. Some of the ruins have now surfaced. This has sparked a lot of interest in the lake.