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Indian Govt Clears $150 Million as Contribution for Square Kilometer Array (SKA) Program

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India is positioned to supervise the development of the software required to monitor and control the SKA telescopes. This software will issue all the commands necessary to execute astronomical observations – akin to the human body’s neural system. Indian software engineers will also help manage the overall development of SKA software. All this will be executed with significant contributions from and benefits to the software industry in India,” the SKA Observatory said last year.

Nearly 20 Indian institutes are part of an Indian SKA network that are actively involved with the programme. The telescopes will cover two different frequency ranges, and are named to reflect this. SKA-Mid, an array of 197 traditional dish antennas, is being built in South Africa while SKA-Low, an array of 131,072 smaller tree-like antennas, is being built in Western Australia. At both sites, construction began last year.

The arrays will both be spread across large distances, with the most distant antennas being separated by 150 km in South Africa, and 65 km in Australia. Taken together, the two sites will represent a massive field of antenna with a total signal collecting area of one square kilometre and hence, the name Square Kilometre Array.

 

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The all-Russian freight mainline electric locomotive 3ES8 "Malachite" from the Ural Lokomotiv company set off on its first voyage. The electric locomotive delivered a train of 77 cars weighing 7018 tons from the Vologda region to the Leningrad region. All main components of the 3ES8 electric locomotive, including the asynchronous traction drive, power equipment and intelligent control systems, were developed and manufactured in Russia. The carrying capacity of the Malachite electric locomotive is 42% higher than that of the previous generation locomotives. It can drive trains of cars weighing over 7 thousand tons and up to 1 km long in mountainous terrain, and up to 9 thousand tons on flat terrain. The 3ES8 Malachite electric locomotive will become the base platform for a line of promising Russian locomotives. The 3ES8 electric locomotive in its main characteristics is not only not inferior to the best world models, but also surpasses them in some parameters.
The electric locomotive 3ES8 "Malachite" is equipped with ATD1000 engines with a power of 1000 kW, the design speed of the electric locomotive is 120 km/h.

 

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The Russian Ka-226T transformable helicopter took off for the first time in Kolyma. One of the main advantages of the Ka-226T helicopter is its modular design. In 30 minutes, the helicopter can be converted into a passenger, cargo, ambulance, search and rescue and police version by replacing one module with another. The helicopter is resistant to side winds and has a high rate of climb; the coaxial design ensures compactness and high maneuverability. The helicopter continues to be improved; work is underway on a new modification of the Ka-226T helicopter, with the replacement of French Arrius 2G1 engines with more powerful Russian VK-650V engines. The cruising speed of the Ka-226T helicopter is 190 km/h, the rate of climb is 12.5 m/s, the flight altitude is up to 6100 meters, and the range is up to 475 km. Maximum take-off weight is 3600 kg, payload in the transport cabin is 785 kg. The helicopter can be operated by one to two pilots and can carry up to seven people.

 

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Russia has commissioned a new wintering complex at the Vostok station in Antarctica. The complex was built on the site of the legendary Vostok station in Antarctica, which was created in 1957, its deterioration reached 97%. This is the first modern building built at the Antarctic pole. Now polar explorers at the station are conducting important research - studying solar activity, studying cosmic phenomena and climate change. The new wintering complex consists of five blocks with an area of about 3 thousand square meters. It is designed to accommodate 15 people during the winter period and 35 people during the seasonal period. The construction of the Vostok complex was not an easy task. The Vostok complex, consisting of 133 modules, as well as fuel and equipment, began to be unloaded in Tala Bay near the Russian Progress station. From there the complex was moved to the Vostok station by sleigh-caterpillar trips. The transfer of modules and installation of the complex took two years; it began in January 2022 and ended in January 2024. The station stands on 36 supports 3 meters high, which will allow it to remain free of snow for many years.

 

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Footage of the production of Russian Alazan missiles designed to combat hail. The missiles are produced by the Cheboksary Production Association named after. IN AND. Chapaeva. The Alazan-8M and Alazan-9 missiles are currently being produced.
The Alazan-9 anti-hail missile differs from the previous Alazan-6 in improved performance, despite its smaller caliber - 60 mm instead of 82 mm - its effectiveness is not reduced. In the new generation Alazan-9 missiles, the performance of the silver iodide reagent is increased by 2.5-3 times, and the cost, due to the smaller caliber, is reduced. How does this rocket work? An anti-hail rocket with a solid propellant engine, equipped with an active smoke bomb and spraying an aerosol of silver iodide. On particles of silver iodide, crystallization nuclei are formed, on which hailstone nuclei are formed. After which they fall to the ground in the form of rain or small, harmless hail. The missiles are capable of hitting hail clouds at a distance of up to 10 kilometers and at altitudes of more than 8 kilometers and are equipped with a self-destruction system. The use of anti-hail missiles makes it possible to reduce crop losses from hail in the southern regions of Russia by 70-90%. Previously, missiles were used in combat operations in the Caucasus and Transnistria.

 

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Autonomous unmanned cleaning robots "Pixel" began to be used in cleaning several areas of Moscow on an ongoing basis. The Russian cleaning robot was developed by Avtonomika.” Pixel robots are equipped with lidar, radar, sensors and machine vision to move safely and can operate year-round in any weather. The robot is equipped with interchangeable attachments to perform various tasks, removing snow in winter, and mopping and sweeping paths in summer. When the robot encounters an obstacle in its path, it recognizes it and bypasses or allows the person to pass. Robots will not be able to replace wipers, but they will reduce their number. The robot's electric battery provides 16 hours of continuous operation and allows it to reach speeds of up to 10 km/h, and when cleaning up to 5 km/h. Having completed the task, the robot itself returns to the base. The developer plans to begin mass production of robots in 2024. After this, in Moscow it will be possible to “introduce unmanned vehicles into the city economy.”

 

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Moscow enthusiasts showed a prototype of the Tikhon unmanned control system, designed for converting cars into drones. At first glance, against the backdrop of modern developments, the design looks archaic, but the advantages of this complex are that it can quickly be equipped with any car, without altering its design. Currently, the Tikhon unmanned control system consists of a twelve-kilogram suitcase and a control panel, but the developers plan to reduce the weight to 6 kilograms. According to the developers, this complex can be quickly installed on any equipment, including military equipment, and turned into an unmanned vehicle. According to them, all components are made in Russia.

 

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A micro-accelerator for MeV electrons: TIFR Hyderabad researchers generate super-fast electrons with table-top laser systems​

Peer-Reviewed Publication
TATA INSTITUTE OF FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH​

In massive particle accelerators, sub-atomic particles (like electrons) are sped up to super-high speeds comparable to the speed of light towards a target surface. The collision of accelerated sub-atomic particles gives rise to unique interactions enabling scientists to obtain a deeper understanding of the fundamental properties of matter.

Conventionally, laser-based particle accelerators require expensive lasers (in the range of 1-20 million USD) and are contained in massive national facilities. A set-up as complex as this is able to accelerate electrons to megaelectronvolt (MeV) energies. But can a simpler laser costing only a tiny fraction of the presently used lasers, be used for designing comparable schemes of particle acceleration?

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Representative Image

In an exciting leap, scientists from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Hyderabad (TIFRH) have designed an elegant solution to successfully generate MeV (106 eV) temperature electrons at a mere fraction (100 times smaller) of the laser intensity previously thought necessary. The technique implements two laser pulses; first to create tiny, controlled explosion in a microdroplet, followed by a second pulse to accelerate electrons to megaelectronvolt (MeV) energies. What's even more exciting is that they achieved this with a laser that's 100 times less than what was previously thought necessary, making it more accessible and versatile for future research! The implications of this discovery can be dramatic due to the ability to produce high-energy electron beams for applications that range from non-destructive testing, imaging, tomography and microscopy and can influence material science to biological sciences.

The set-up developed by TIFRH researchers uses a millijoule class laser, firing at a rate of 1000 pulses a second with ultrashort 25 fs pulses, and is used to dynamically chisel micro-droplets of 15 µm diameter. This dynamic target shaping involves two laser pulses working in tandem. The first pulse crafts a concave surface in the liquid drop, and the second pulse drives electrostatic plasma waves, propelling electrons to MeV energies.

Electrostatic waves are oscillations in plasma are much like the mechanical disturbances created in a water pond when you through a stone. Here the laser creates disturbances in the sea of electrons and generates an “electron tsunami” that breaks to give high energy electrons much like the splash of a wave in the sea coast. The process generates not one but two electron beams, each with distinct temperature components: 200 keV and 1 MeV. This innovation, produces directed electron beams beyond 4 MeV with a laser that fits on a tabletop, making it a game-changer for time-resolved, microscopic studies across diverse scientific fields.

 

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At the Novocherkassk Electric Locomotive Plant of Transmashholding, the first Russian hybrid electric locomotive EMKA2 was manufactured for customers. The EMKA2 electric locomotive is capable of operating from a contact network or from an on-board energy storage device. The EMKA2 electric locomotive is designed for operation in depots and passenger terminals of large stations, where for environmental reasons the use of diesel engines is undesirable. The EMKA2 electric locomotive can be recharged in two ways - from the contact network through a standard 3 kW pantograph, or from an external charger. The energy in the electric locomotive's storage unit is sufficient to propel a train weighing up to 2 thousand tons over a distance of up to 14 km. Without a train, an electric locomotive can travel up to 100 km. Using an electric locomotive instead of a shunting diesel locomotive allows you to save up to 70-80% of fuel and lubricants and reduce current operating costs by 40-60%. The operating speed of the electric locomotive is 90 km/h, weight is 92 tons.

 
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