FEBRUARY

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Ø  Balong 5G01 chipset: Huawei unveils world’s first 5G chip

Ø  Chinese electronic device and smartphone maker Huawei has unveiled Balong 5G01, world’s first 5G chip at Mobile World Congress 2018 held in Barcelona, Spain. The company also showed its f5G-ready CPE equipment.

Ø  DRDO Successfully Carries Out Test Flight Of Rustom-2 Drone

Ø  Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flown it’s Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle RUSTOM 2 in Karnataka. The flight assumes significance as this is the first flight in user configuration with higher power engine. India at present depends on America and Israel for such predator drones. DRDO is developing within India a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle RUSTOM 2. It has the capability to fly for 24 hours at a stretch at over 200 km/hr speed, and can, not only conduct sustained surveillance but will be able to destroy enemy targets.

Ø  India Successfully Test-Fires ‘Dhanush’ Missile

Ø  India has successfully test-fired the nuclear-capable surface-to-surface Dhanush ballistic missile with a strike range of 350 km from a naval ship off Odisha coast. This naval variant of the indigenously-developed Prithvi-II missile was test-fired from the ship positioned near Paradip in the Bay of Bengal. It was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation. ‘Dhanush’ missile is is capable of carrying a payload of 500 kg and hitting both land and sea-based targets.

Ø  Progress MS-08: Unmanned Russian Cargo Ship launched to Space Station

Ø  Russian space agency Roskosmos has successfully launched Progress MS-08, an unmanned cargo spacecraft for the International Space Station (ISS). It was launched onboard of Soyuz-2.1a rocket from Russian-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan. Soyuz-2.1a has four strap-on boosters and core engine, all fueled by mix of kerosene and liquid oxygen.

Ø  India successfully test-fires nuclear capable Agni-1 missile

Ø  An indigenously developed short-range nuclear capable ballistic Agni-1 was successfully test-fired from a mobile launcher at Pad 4 of the Integrated Test Range at Odisha’s Dr Abdul Kalam Island. It was 18th version of Agni-1, which could achieve all parameters within the stipulated time period. The defence Research and Development Organization (RDO) has successfully tested country’s longest indigenously developed nuclear missile Agni-V on 18 January 2018.

Ø  Space X launches the world’s most powerful rocket carrying car into space

Ø  US space flight company SpaceX has launched the world’s most powerful operational rocket ‘Falcon Heavy’ into the space. The Falcon Heavy blasted off from the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States. Falcon Heavy carried a red Tesla Roadster car belonging to SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk into space. The car was outfitted with a mannequin dressed in a spacesuit, a high-data storage unit containing Isaac Asimov’s science fiction book series, the Foundation Trilogy, and a plaque bearing the names of 6000 SpaceX employees.

Ø  Google launches ‘#SecurityCheckKiya’ campaign

Ø  Search engine giant Google has launched ‘#SecurityCheckKiya’ campaign in India to create awareness around Internet safety. It was launched on the occasion of Safer Internet Day (6 February). The campaign aims to protect first-time web users from account hijacking, safeguard Android devices from malicious apps and secure all their personal data if they lose their device.

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Ø   Japan launches smallest rocket ever to carry tiny satellite into orbit

Ø  The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the world’s smallest rocket with the ability to put a tiny satellite into orbit. The rocket lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Center. It carried a microsatellite TRICOM-1R, a three-unit CubeSat weighing about 3 kilograms. This satellite launch was a re-flight of the TRICOM-1 mission, which was lost in SS-520’s failure in 2017. The launch was aimed at testing the ability of JAXA to launch low-cost rockets that can put microsatellites into space at affordable rates.

Ø  UK allows doctors to create three-parent babies through mitochondrial donation

Ø  Britain’s fertility regulator Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has allowed doctors to create country’s first ‘three-parent’ babies through mitochondrial donation therapy (or MRT). This move is aimed at preventing passage of incurable genetic diseases from mothers to offsprings.

Ø  INS Karanj is Third Scorpene Class Submarine Launched By Indian Navy

Ø  Indian Navy has launched ‘INS Karanj’, the third of the six indigenous Scorpene-class submarines. The submarine, equipped with superior stealth features and precision-guided weapons built at Mumbai’s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited. Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of the Naval Staff, was the chief guest on the occasion. The submarine has an overall length of 67.5 meters and a height of about 12.3 meters.