Technology

Bangalore, April 18: India is preparing to launch an advanced remote sensing earth observation satellite in May, undeterred by the failure of its cryogenic rocket mission last week, says a senior space official.

‘We are going ahead with the schedule of launching the remote sensing Cartosat-2B satellite in the sun-synchronous polar orbit in May second week (8-10) by using a smaller rocket from our spaceport at Sriharikota,’ Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) director S. Satish told IANS.

Hamburg, April 18: Social network users should behave like a snooty country club when it comes to setting up profiles: “Invitation only!” That means limiting access to information to friends and family, not random surfers.

The German Press Agency dpa recently created accounts with several popular social networks and checked out how to adjust the privacy. The key question: How private are the profiles of new users and by extension those who haven’t adjusted their settings yet?

Bangalore, April 18: India is preparing to launch an advanced remote sensing earth observation satellite in May, undeterred by the failure of its cryogenic rocket mission last week, says a senior space official.

“We are going ahead with the schedule of launching the remote sensing Cartosat-2B satellite in the sun-synchronous polar orbit in May second week (8-10) by using a smaller rocket from our spaceport at Sriharikota,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) director S. Satish told IANS.

Banglore, April 17: On Thursday at 4.27 pm, GSAT-4 satellite, aboard GSLV-D3 will lift off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

The 2,220-kg satellite will be launched into a geosynchronous orbit around the earth from the second launch pad at the space centre.

ISRO officials said the weather forecast was clear and the launch would be on schedule.

For the first time, GSLV-D3 will be powered by a home-made cryogenic engine. This makes India only the sixth nation to possess such a complex technology.

Sriharikota, April 16: India’s GSLV-D3 powered by homegrown cryogenic engine for the first time failed in its mission as the rocket carrying a communication satellite deviated from its path and went out of control shortly after its lift-off from the spaceport in Sriharikota on Thursday.

“The mission objectives are not met fully. There are indications that the cryogenic engine ignited but the vehicle was tumbling and controllability lost,” ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan said.

Sriharikota, April 16: India’s ambitious quest to achieve total independence in cryogenic technology for launching satellite launch vehicles suffered a setback on Thursday, with the indigenous cryogenic engine in a Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D3) failing to ignite and the vehicle tumbling into the sea.

The mission to put communication satellite GSAT-4 in orbit thus ended in failure. The vehicle, however, was not destroyed in mid-flight as its trajectory was in a safe corridor over the Bay of Bengal.

New Delhi, April 16: India’s ambitious quest to achieve total independence in cryogenic technology for launching satellite launch vehicles suffered a setback on Thursday, with the indigenous cryogenic engine in a Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D3) failing to ignite and the vehicle tumbling into the sea.

The mission to put communication satellite GSAT-4 in orbit thus ended in failure. The vehicle, however, was not destroyed in mid-flight as its trajectory was in a safe corridor over the Bay of Bengal.

United Nations, April 15: Far more Indians have access to cell phones than to toilet and basic sanitation, a new UN report has said.

”It is a tragic irony to think that in India, a country now wealthy enough that roughly half of the people own phones, about half cannot afford the basic necessity and dignity of a toilet,” said Zafar Adeel, Director of United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health.

London, April 15: Researchers in the UK have developed a method of curing a class of genetic disorders by transplanting parts of embryonic cells from one mother to another, creating the possibility of babies with three biological parents.

Researchers at Newcastle University have transferred material from a healthy fertilized human egg into an unhealthy one, repairing the egg’s genetic flaws, Nature magazine reported Wednesday.

Chennai, April 15: The countdown to the launch of a 50-metre, tall, 416-tonne rocket with an Indian cryogenic engine to inject an advanced communication satellite in the geo-synchronous orbit has started at the Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh, a space agency official said Wednesday.

“Filling of liquid propellants in the four strap-on motors (42 tonnes each) that will be hugging the rocket is set to begin soon. Fuel filling of the second stage (40 tonnes) got over recently,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) director S.Satish told IANS from Sriharikota.

Bangalore, April 14: The countdown to launch a heavy rocket with an Indian cryogenic engine to inject an advanced communication satellite in the geo-synchronous orbit began Wednesday at the Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh, a space agency official said.

Washington, April 14: Facebook rolled out a redesign on Tuesday of a “safety center” that provides information for parents, teenagers, teachers and law enforcement on how to safely use the booming social networking site.

Facebook said the revamped page is the first major collaboration between the Palo Alto, California-based company and members of its global “Safety Advisory Board” set up in December.

London, April 14: Pakistan great Mushtaq Mohammad believes controversial all-rounder Shahid Afridi is the right man to “lead from the front” as they prepare to defend their World Twenty20 title.

Afridi has long been one of the world’s leading one-day players and his aggressive batting and leg-spin bowling were instrumental in Pakistan winning the World Twenty20 in England last year.

“Pakistan are a team in the making at the moment and Shahid Afridi is quite a force in the shorter form of cricket,” Mushtaq told reporters at Lord’s here on Monday.

New Delhi, April 14: Want to watch the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games (CWG) live without going to a stadium or switching on the telly? All you need is a 3G mobile handset that brings you all the action even when you are travelling.

The Games organising committee is also looking at developing a number of mobile applications to provide a lot more at your finger tips.

Edwards, April 14: One of NASA’s newest research jets soared high over the Pacific Ocean Tuesday on a 24-hour mission to study Earth’s atmosphere.

Its pilot remained seated in an office chair in a windowless room in the Mojave Desert, monitoring the autonomous flight of the Global Hawk via an array of computer screens.

Global Hawks were designed to perform high-altitude, long-endurance reconnaissance and intelligence missions for the Air Force, which has turned over to NASA three versions built in the developmental process.

New Delhi, April 13: In a difficult and rare surgery, a team of doctors here successfully did the auditory brainstem implant (ABI) on a two-and-half-year old girl from Ladakh, who was born with hearing impairment.

“Tsesla is the first recipient of an ABI in north India and second in Asia. ABI is a technique in which a small chip is placed in the brainstem to restore hearing sensation,” J.M. Hans, a senior doctor at the B.L. Kapoor Memorial Hospital here, said Tuesday.

New York, April 13: ProPublica, in an historic first for online journalism, won a coveted Pulitzer Prize on Monday for investigative reporting about controversial deaths at a New Orleans medical center following Hurricane Katrina.

The chronicle of decisions by doctors caring for patients stranded by the flood, written by Sheri Fink of ProPublica in collaboration with The New York Times Magazine, marked the first time an online service won a top journalism award given annually by the Pulitzer Prize Board at Columbia University.

Moscow, April 13: Russia has launched a special social networking site to encourage interaction among Information and Technology (IT) professionals.

The project is part of the Russian government’s efforts to create an electronic public service system, intended to help fight corruption and red tape.

The regionalochka.ru website, designed for “employees of Russia’s regional administrations, charged with IT development, administrative reform and transition to providing state and municipal services online”, is currently operating in a test mode.

New Delhi, April 13: Half the bio-medical waste generated in the country’s hospitals is just dumped with municipal garbage, without any special treatment, according to a recent study evaluating the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). In fact, almost 15,000 hospitals have been served show cause notices as defaulters for not following waste management rules.

New Delhi, April 12: The 3G auction has kicked off with the smooth start on 9th April 2010 with top telecom operators i.e. Bharti, Vodafone, R Com and Tata’s, in the fray to acquire the radio waves that could fetch the government up to Rs 35,000 Crore.

This will be the first online auction for spectrum. Online auctioning is a very transparent process and there is no scope of cartelization which means the companies can’t be together deciding the prices.

Seville, April 12: A social networking website where anyone can express a dream and the members commit themselves to fulfilling it is drawing thousands of people in Spain. The website — www.lapapaya.org — started by Colombian architect Felipe Velazquez seeks to make the highest number of wishes come true for “everyone who is ready to dream.”

The members known as “papayos” commit themselves to making the dreams come true, but on the condition that the person asking for a favour offers his time and effort to make wishes of three other people come true.

Bangalore, April 11: India is developing a sub-sonic 1,000-km range cruise missile “Nirbhay” which can be used for a “variety of applications”, a top military scientist said today.

The 1000-kg “missile is getting into some shape”, Dr V K Saraswat, Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister and Chief of Defence Research and Development Organisation said.

He also said the flight-trial of air-to-air missile ‘Astra’, having a range of 45 to 100 km, is on the cards.

Washington, April 11: Scientists at the US space agency are preparing a ‘new’ collection of images scheduled for release on the 20th anniversary of the launching of the Hubble telescope.

NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) scientists are set to commemorate the 20 years of the Hubble Space Telescope’s service via the release of new images taken by Hubble on April 24, US media reported Saturday.

The agency has already published a number of images in a new book titled: A Journey Through Space and Time ahead of the occasion.

Washington, April 10: The “smartphones” many of us now carry have a three to five mega pixel lens, not to mention an MP3 player, GPS or even a bar code scanner. What if new functions on our cell phones can also protect us from toxic chemicals?

The US Deparment of Homeland Security’s science and technology directorate’s Cell-All is such an initiative.

Cell-All aims to equip cell phones with a sensor capable of detecting deadly chemicals. The technology is ingenious.

New Delhi, April 10: The government is hoping to reap around $8 billion from the sale of 3G airwaves, which begins on Friday, and a follow-up auction of broadband wireless access spectrum in what will be the largest such sale in recent years.

India’s mobile firms bidding billions of dollars in an auction this week to provide superfast third generation (3G) service in the country’s booming cellular market.