Current Affairs 1st April 2019
Current Affairs from PIB, The Hindu, Indian Express
Current Affairs 1st April 2019
PRELIMS SPECIAL:
Shanghai becomes the world’s first district with 5G coverage
Shanghai claimed that it has become the world’s first district using both 5G coverage and broadband gigabit network as China seeks to establish a lead over the US and other countries in the race to develop next-generation cellular mobile communications.
5G is the next generation of cellular technology with download speeds that are 10 to 100 times faster than 4G LTE networks. The 5G stations are being installed in different parts of China, including Tibet, as part of Huawei’s plans to lead the 5G trials despite the opposition.
ISRO opens its 1st visitor’s gallery to watch rocket launches
In a first, The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) opened a visitors' gallery with 5,000 capacity at Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota island.
The gallery has a clear line of sight to two launch pads and large screens to explain launcher and satellite features.
This comes as ISRO is launching defense satellite EMISAT along with 28 foreign satellites on April 1, 2019
PSLV-C45 successfully launches EMISAT and 28 customer satellites
India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C45) today successfully launched EMISAT and 28 international customer satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR in Sriharikota. This flight marked the first mission of PSLV-QL, a new variant of PSLV with four strap-on motors.
In today’s mission, the rocket PSLV-C45 flew in a new configuration called “QL”. In this configuration, the rocket is fitted with four longer versions of strap-on motors that provide the vehicle the required additional thrust. Earlier, the rocket used to be in “XL” version with six strap-on motors or two or with no strap-on motors known as core alone configuration. The PSLV-C45 successfully injected EMISAT in a 748-km sun-synchronous polar orbit and 28 international customer satellites in a 504-km orbit. Of these, 24 are from the US, two from Lithuania, and one each from Spain and Switzerland. EMISAT is a satellite built around ISRO’s Mini Satellite-2 (IMS-2) bus weighing about 436 kg. The satellite is intended for electromagnetic spectrum measurement.
The 28 international customer satellites, together weighing about 220 kg, are from four countries, namely, Lithuania (2), Spain (1), Switzerland (1) and USA (24). These foreign satellites were launched as part of commercial arrangements.
IMPORTANT FOR MAINS
Paper 3 Science and Technology.
EDITORIALS TO READ:
JANSATTA: अंतरिक्ष में कचरे की चुनौती
THE HINDU: SEEKING THE NEXT FRONTIER
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/seeking-the-next-frontier/article26695476.ece
BASED ON THE ABOVE EDITORIALS HERE ARE SOME PRACTICE QUESTIONS:
- WHAT IS THE USE OF ASAT TECHNOLOGY IN DEFENDING THE SECURITY OF NATION IN FUTURE?
- SPACE OVERCROWDED WITH SATELLITES IS A DIRECT THREAT TO 'SPACE FOR ALL PHILOSOPHY'. CRITICALLY COMMENT.
- HIGHLIGHT THE THREATS OF SPACE DEBRIS.