Archive For May, 2017

HAL to aggressively market Advanced Hawk to foreign buyers

Government-controlled Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is looking to aggressively market the upgraded Advanced Hawk trainer jets — jointly developed by HAL and BAE Systems of the UK — to foreign buyers, given the “rather tepid response” from the Indian Air Force for which the jets were initially intended. “We are looking to target friendly countries […]

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HAL turnover at ₹17,400 crore

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd has achieved a turnover of ₹17,406 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2017, 4% higher than the year before. Profit before tax was ₹3,294 crore, barely above last year’s PBT. “The company is doing well on expected lines. We contributed around ₹800 crore to the government exchequer by way of […]

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ISRO readying for test flight of heavyweight rockets

Indian Space Research Organisation plans to undertake next month the first developmental flight of a “game-changer” rocket capable of launching four-ton class of satellites from Sriharikota spaceport, says its Chairman Mr A S Kiran Kumar. ISRO rockets (launch vehicles) at present have the capability to launch satellites up to 2.2 tons; it depends on international […]

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ISRO plans Joint Venture with industries for rocket-building

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to forge a joint venture with an industrial consortium to build rockets.  “We are (currently) using significant amount of things from the industry. If you take launch vehicles (space rockets), 80 per cent of our work, we do with the industry (which are making space-related equipment) today,” the […]

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CSIR-NIO develops robotic platform to track oceanic processes

Researchers at the Dona Paula based CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) have developed a robotic platform that can be stationed at any depth from 0 to 200 meters to track the oceanic processes.  “Scientists at Marine Instrumentation Group of CSIR - National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO) have developed a robotic platform, Seabed Resident Event Profiler (SREP), that can be stationed at any water […]

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New material may double solar cell efficiency

In a breakthrough, scientists have identified a new crystalline material that could replace silicon and double the efficiency of solar cells without a significant cost increase. Conventional solar cells are at most one-third efficient, a limit known to scientists as the Shockley-Queisser Limit. The new material, a crystalline structure that contains both inorganic materials (iodine […]

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NASA designs device to protect astronauts from neutron beams

NASA scientists have developed a new device to monitor harmful radiation exposure, which may help keep astronauts safe during deep-space missions such as the manned mission to Mars. To be launched on the fifth re-supply mission undertaken by Orbital ATK — an American aerospace and defence manufacturer — to the International Space Station (ISS), the […]

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SpaceX makes aerospace history with successful launch and landing of a used rocket

After more than two years of landing its rockets after launch, SpaceX finally sent one of its used Falcon 9s back into space. The rocket took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, this evening, sending a communications satellite into orbit, and then landed on one of SpaceX’s drone ships floating in the Atlantic Ocean. It was […]

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Scientists develop ‘Grassoline’ to power airplanes of the future

In the quest of more sustainable energy sources, scientists have developed ‘grassoline’ – a biofuel derived from grass that could one day power aircraft.Researchers investigated methods that can disintegrate and treat grass until it can be used as a fuel. “Until now, grass has mainly served as feed for animals. But apart from that, grass […]

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‘Fuzzy fibres’ may help gen-next rockets stand extreme heat

Scientists, including those of Indian origin, have developed “fuzzy fibres” that act like Velcro and could stand up to the heat and pressure of next-generation rocket engines. The fibres made of  silicon carbide strengthen composites used in advanced rocket engines that have to withstand temperatures up to 1,600 degrees Celsius. Ceramic composites in rockets now […]

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