How different things work
Space missions are no longer the preserve of governments. On May 22, for
the first time, a private company launched a spacecraft, which docked
at the International Space Station three days, six hours, 11 minutes and
23 seconds later.
Private Space
Space missions are no longer the preserve of governments. On May 22, for the first time, a private company launched a spacecraft, which docked at the International Space Station three days, six hours, 11 minutes and 23 seconds later.
What it is: A Falcon 9 rocket powering an unmanned Dragon capsule. It was built by Space Exploration Technologies Corp, or SpaceX, a California-based company, and launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX - who was also a co-founder of PayPal, has personally funded the project. In addition, the US's National Aeronautical Space Agency (NASA) put in $381 million of seed money. The capsule carried around 450 kg of provisions for the space station.
What will follow: After a week at the space station, the spacecraft will return to Earth, expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off California.
Purpose: This was a test flight to determine if private companies can handle such missions. The capsule carried only non-essential items. If all goes well, NASA will start outsourcing space missions, both unmanned and manned, to private agencies. SpaceX is one of several commercial space companies competing for federal dollars to develop space capsules.
Ctrl+U+P
That could soon become yet another command on your keypad. And what would it do? It would 'unprint', erase the ink on any printed document you put in the printer, so that the paper can be reused. In a boost for paper conservation, researchers at Cambridge University have been successful at using short pulses of laser light to delete words and images printed on paper, by vapourising the toner ink.
Old is Gold
Digital cameras may have turned film cameras into relics, but some relics can cost quite a bit. The most expensive cameras in the world remain German manufacturer Leica's 1923 'O series', the first lot of 31 the company ever made, one of which recently sold for $2.8 million. Earlier, another camera from the series sold for $1.7 million.
Wary Donor
Funding a project does not mean handing over money blindly. The World Bank, which is financing an Rs 800-crore project to widen the Cuttack-Chandabali road in Odisha, has held back the money and pulled up the state for failing to acquire land needed for it. With just 30 per cent of the land acquired so far, the project, which should have been completed in 2008/09, is likely to bother the commuters for some more time.
Compiled by Basudha Das
Space missions are no longer the preserve of governments. On May 22, for the first time, a private company launched a spacecraft, which docked at the International Space Station three days, six hours, 11 minutes and 23 seconds later.
What it is: A Falcon 9 rocket powering an unmanned Dragon capsule. It was built by Space Exploration Technologies Corp, or SpaceX, a California-based company, and launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX - who was also a co-founder of PayPal, has personally funded the project. In addition, the US's National Aeronautical Space Agency (NASA) put in $381 million of seed money. The capsule carried around 450 kg of provisions for the space station.
What will follow: After a week at the space station, the spacecraft will return to Earth, expected to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off California.
Purpose: This was a test flight to determine if private companies can handle such missions. The capsule carried only non-essential items. If all goes well, NASA will start outsourcing space missions, both unmanned and manned, to private agencies. SpaceX is one of several commercial space companies competing for federal dollars to develop space capsules.
Ctrl+U+P
That could soon become yet another command on your keypad. And what would it do? It would 'unprint', erase the ink on any printed document you put in the printer, so that the paper can be reused. In a boost for paper conservation, researchers at Cambridge University have been successful at using short pulses of laser light to delete words and images printed on paper, by vapourising the toner ink.
Old is Gold
Digital cameras may have turned film cameras into relics, but some relics can cost quite a bit. The most expensive cameras in the world remain German manufacturer Leica's 1923 'O series', the first lot of 31 the company ever made, one of which recently sold for $2.8 million. Earlier, another camera from the series sold for $1.7 million.
Wary Donor
Funding a project does not mean handing over money blindly. The World Bank, which is financing an Rs 800-crore project to widen the Cuttack-Chandabali road in Odisha, has held back the money and pulled up the state for failing to acquire land needed for it. With just 30 per cent of the land acquired so far, the project, which should have been completed in 2008/09, is likely to bother the commuters for some more time.
Compiled by Basudha Das
