ISRO’s lost satellite could turn up to say ‘hi’ years later. Meanwhile, ISRO hopes to stick to its timetable of planned launches
It was a textbook launch. As the GSLV rocket took off from the second launch pad at Sriharikota at 4.56pm on March 29, watchers on the rooftop gallery clapped. The Indian Space Research Organisation immediately began releasing updates, even videos from the on-board camera, showing details of the flight that was carrying a communication satellite—GSAT-6A. The updates continued till April 1, when ISRO announced the successful second orbit raising operation, carried out on March 31. The next orbit raising was to happen shortly afterwards, which would insert the satellite into the orbit it was destined for. But, after the flurry of updates, an ominous silence followed. ISRO finally confirmed it lost communication with the satellite on April 1. The satellite was on the last leg of its journey when the communication snapped.
The announcement created ripples in spacefaring circles across the globe. ISRO, with its series of successful and record-breaking launches and missions in recent times (low-cost moon and Mars missions, the latter being the first by any country in its maiden attempt, as well as the record-making 104 satellites in one launch) is a major player in spacefaring. Its launches are watched keenly. Coming months before Chandrayaan 2, an ambitious attempt at sending a rover to the south pole of the moon, this mission failure has raised a question—will the slated missions get postponed? There is also Aditya, a mission to study the sun, in the pipeline.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 15, 2018 من THE WEEK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 15, 2018 من THE WEEK.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
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Angry, Young America
Campus protests against the Gaza war continue to linger as students demand a realignment of US ties with Israel
We need to engage more with communities
Designer Aratrik Dev Varman of the label Tilla has long been a lover of history. One could comfortably call him part-aesthete, part-archeologist, for his clothes dip into vintage styles of the Kutch, Sindh, Balochistan and Afghanistan, bringing alive antique styles and crafts. Tilla, the store and atelier, are situated on a tree-lined avenue in Ahmedabad.
The great luxury slowdown
A year or so ago, if anyone had told me that Tommy Hilfiger would have stolen the show at New York’s Met Gala, I would have laughed. But it seems the end of giant luxury labels is upon us even before we expected it. The American ready-to-wear designer Tommy Hilfiger seems to have created the maximum media buzz at the 2024 Met Gala, according to several data analytics firms.
RAP BRINGS RAPTURE
How indie artistes, especially hip-hoppers, are driving the phenomenal rise of Malayalam music
Employability issues are a narrative created by the corporate world
Prof Yogesh Singh is the 23rd vice chancellor of the century-old University of Delhi (DU). An engineer with a PhD in computer engineering, Singh has an impressive track record of teaching, innovation and research in the area of software engineering. He has more than 250 publications and his book, Software Testing, published by the Cambridge University Press, is well-received internationally. In an interview with THE WEEK, Singh talks about trends in higher education in India, the challenges faced by big universities, and how to make higher education more interesting. Asked about the perception that Indian graduates are “not employable”, he reacts strongly, and emphasises the difference between training and higher education. Edited excerpts:
SERVING WITH DISTINCTION
Conceived as a university like no other, Jawaharlal Nehru University became India's best. Here is how
Mandela Effect and Liar's Dividend
The complex tapestry of AI's impact on society
The other Sabyasachi
I am Sabyasachi Mukherjee, not to be confused with my namesake, the celebrated fashion couturier, declared the venerated director-general of Mumbai’s pride, George Wittet’s Indo-Saracenic jewel, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum.
THE MANGO HUNTERS
'Naadan Maavukal' started out as a Facebook group, but what it does offline has helped conserve many indigenous varieties of mangoes
BJP LEADERS, TOO, HAVE HAD ENOUGH
Farmers’ protest has taken the centre stage in Haryana, which goes to the polls on May 25. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is confident that the Congress, which has been out of power for 10 years, will regain its hold on the state. “People who voted for the BJP are disappointed today. It is clear that they want change,” he told THE WEEK.