Indian eye in sky

The spy craft, called the Communication Centric Intelligence Satellite is expected to be launched into orbit in 2014, keeping a close watch on hot spots in the troubled neighborhood. CCI-Sat is part of a high-priority plan to develop electronic warfare systems for India's army, navy and air force, G Boopathy, director of the Defense Electronic Research Laboratory, was quoted telling local media.
The laboratory is developing the $25 million satellite and Boopathy said the project was still in its initial phases of planning. "The focus now, is space; we have to equip ourselves for electronic warfare from space, too," he said. Beyond surveillance, CCI-Sat is capable of picking up images, even conversations, between satellite phones.
The satellite is expected to orbit Earth at an altitude of 300 miles and keep watch on hostile regions in India's region by passing on surveillance data to intelligence command-and-control centers. The Hindu newspaper reported the satellite will be fitted with electronic sensors that are more powerful than the Indian Space Research Organization's remote-sensing satellites.
It said the electronic warfare sensor would be "located on on the mountain range facing Pakistan, China, Nepal and the northeast part of the country, to detect troop or vehicular movement across the borders."
Only a select number of countries, including the United States, France and China, are using such electronic spy satellites. While the payload will be built by India's Defense Electronic Research Laboratory, the satellite's design and development will be made by the country's space research organization. India is poised to put an other two military Cartosat-2B satellites in orbit in the coming months. Both will also be used for military purposes. Last year, India launched its generic RISAT-2 military satellite, which is keeping a high-resolution eye on the country's borders and coastline to watch for terrorist infiltration, Defense News reported.
Meantime, the director of Defense Avionics Research Establishment revealed that new electronic warfare technology has been developed for light aircraft and that the system was set to be tested imminently. Defense scientists told local media that India was focusing research on technologies to intercept and jam satellite phone networks. "That project is going on," an unnamed official was quoted as saying. "Within a year, it will be ready." Among other developments, officials said a "penetration aid," that allows Indian military aircraft to penetrate enemy territory without being identified by surrounding radar.

e-waste timebomb

"Sales of electronic products in countries like China and India and across continents such as Africa and Latin America are set to rise sharply in the next 10 years," the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a report. "And unless action is stepped up to properly collect and recycle materials, many developing countries face the spectre of hazardous e-waste mountains with serious consequences for the environment and public health."
The report entitled "Recycling -- from E-Waste to Resources" was released at a meeting of Basel Convention and other world chemical authorities prior to UNEP's Governing Council meeting in Bali, Indonesia. It used data from 11 developing countries to estimate current and future e-waste generation such as desk and laptop computers, printers, mobile phones, pagers, digital photo and music devices, refrigerators, toys and televisions.
By 2020 e-waste from old computers in South Africa and China will have jumped by 200 to 400 percent from 2007 levels, and by 500 percent in India, it said. Waste from discarded mobile phones would be seven times higher in China and 18 times higher in India by the same year.
"This report gives new urgency to establishing ambitious, formal and regulated processes for collecting and managing e-waste via the setting up of large, efficient facilities in China," UNEP executive director Achim Steiner said in a statement.
"China is not alone in facing a serious challenge. India, Brazil, Mexico and others may also face rising environmental damage and health problems if e-waste recycling is left to the vagaries of the informal sector." He said raising e-waste recycling rates in developing countries could also "generate decent employment, cut greenhouse gas emissions and recover a wide range of valuable metals including silver, gold, palladium, copper and indium".
"By acting now and planning forward many countries can turn an e-challenge into an e-opportunity," he added. China already produces an estimated 2.3 million tonnes of e-waste, second only to the United States with about three million tonnes, the report said.
It is also a major e-waste dumping ground for developed countries despite having banned such imports. Much of this rubbish is incinerated by backyard recyclers to recover tiny quantities of metals such as gold, releasing toxic fumes.
The report also found:
-- global e-waste generation is growing by about 40 million tonnes a year
-- manufacturing mobile phones and personal computers consumes three percent of the gold and silver mined worldwide each year; 13 percent of the palladium and 15 percent of cobalt
-- more than a billion mobile phones were sold around the world in 2007, up from 896 million in 2006
The report, written jointly with the United Nations University, recommended various ways to transform e-waste into assets. "One person's waste can be another's raw material," university rector Konrad Osterwalder said. "The challenge of dealing with e-waste represents an important step in the transition to a green economy." The report was issued at the Simultaneous Extraordinary Meetings of the Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.

No Man Mission to Moon and Mars

The rumors were true, Constellation is cancelled. No Ares 1 crew vehicle, no Ares V heavy lifter, no Altair lander. No bases on the Moon , and no human exploration of Mars. NASA is canceling the human return to Moon.
But with NASA handling that "back to the Moon" thing, space advocates probably thought they could relax a little.I think that NASA has an enormous role to play in human space exploration. They have the ability to solve problems that private enterprise just doesn't have the funds for. Sure, NASA put a man on the Moon, but it's the trickle down technologies that we appreciate every day. Like velcro! NASA needs create the tools and technology that will enable a vibrant and healthy private space industry.
What's the best way to extract fuel from an astroid? How can ion engines cut down flight times? Is there a better way to make a spacesuit ? What are some good materials for space elevators? What are some safer rocket fuels? How can we make rocket launches better for the environment? Is there a way to make velcro better? They can do this through pure research, competitions, university grants, prizes, and private/government partnerships. They can team up with other governments to cut costs on the really big challenges.
And you know what's strange? They already do this with science. NASA listens to scientists to hear their greatest challenges. "We need to see through gas and dust to see star formation and protoplanetary disks" – here's Spitzer. "We need to see high energy regions around supermassive black holes" – that's Fermi. "We need to know if there's evidence of water on the surface of Mars" – that's Spirit and Opportunity. NASA does this so well with science? Why don't they answer questions and solve problems in the same way for space exploration? There are so many questions, and NASA can help point us in the right directions.