How a somersault did Vikram lander in Chandrayaan-2

An inexplicable flip that turned the Chandrayaan-2 lander upside down moments before it was to land on the Moon may explain what happened last Saturday, when the Indian Space Research Organisation lost all contact with the Vikram lander.

Data and readings from the Vikram lander's descent on to the lunar surface, gathered by the India Today Magazine, offer an exclusive glimpse into how the Chandrayaan-2 lander lost contact with Earth during its attempt to land on the Moon.

In the early hours of September 7, the Chandrayaan-2 lander began its descent on to the lunar surface. The descent was to last around 15 minutes and initially everything seemed to be going according to plan.

Around 11 minutes after Vikram began its descent, things went haywire.

At that point, Vikram was supposed to rotate slightly so that its cameras could map the lunar surface for a suitable landing site.
During this crucial movement, Vikram unexpectedly and inexplicably performed a somersault.
For a brief moment the Chandrayaan-2 lander was upside down over the lunar surface.
What this meant was that the reverse thrust-producing engines, which were slowing Vikram down, faced the sky for some time. And so, instead of slowing the craft down, the engines actually pushed the Vikram lander down towards the lunar surface.

This was clearly visible in the final readings sent by Vikram -- at 11 minutes and 28 seconds after beginning its descent, Vikram's vertical velocity (the speed with which it was descending on to the Moon) was 42.9 metres per second. A minute and a half later, the speed dramatically increased to 58.9 metres per second.

It was right after this that Vikram went silent and stopped communicating. It still has not gotten back in touch.

Source: businesstoday

'MISSION SHAKTI' Full lift-off of A-SAT missile that has made India a space superpower accessed, watch the footage the nation is talking about here - Republic World

Republic Media Network has accessed footage of India's 'Mission Shakti'
The visuals capture the launch of the A-SAT (anti-satellite) missile
The missile targeted a satellite that was orbiting the Earth at a distance of 300 km (Low-Earth Orbit) and found its mark in just three minutes

On a day that India announced its credentials as a space superpower by joining an elite club of countries that have proven Anti-Satellite (A-SAT) weapons capabilities, Republic TV has exclusively accessed the footage that the nation is talking about.

The visuals in question carry a 27-March-2019 time-stamp - i.e. Wednesday. The A-SAT missile is clearly visible, unmarked and standing on what appears to be a movable rocket-launching platform located in what is unmistakably a missile launch facility - essentially a large open concretised area with tracks for the movable platform.

The pre-launch phase contains a countdown from 10. As the countdown expires, the missile's propulsion system kicks into life, its jet exhaust engulfing the entire area with smoke. The lift-off is clean, with the bullet-shaped A-SAT shooting straight upwards, leaving an enormous trail.

Within seconds, and just moments after mission control confirms the lift-off, the warhead is almost out of visual range, with only its copious jet-stream visible. The final word from mission control appears to be that the missile is within the desired corridor.

The speed of the missile's liftoff gives an indication as to how it traversed the 300km distance to the pre-determined satellite target that was at that point occupying a Low-Earth Orbit in just three minutes, as was mentioned by the Prime Minister while he announced the success of 'Mission Shakti'.


In tandem with his address to the nation where he made the announcement of Mission Shakti's success, the Prime Minister also tweeted hailing those who responsible for 'Mission Shakti' and also highlighted two key aspects that made the mission particularly special, pointing out that India is only the fourth country - after the US, China and Russia - to accomplish such a feat and also, that the entire effort was indigenous:

Wing Commander Abhinandan' to 'Pulwama Terror Attack': B-Town producers battling for movie titles post IAF's strike

After the unprecedented success of Vicky Kaushal starrer URI: The Surgical Strike and in the wake of the recent turn of events post the Pulwama Attack and Indian Air Force (IAF)'s strike on Pakistani terror camps in Balakot, followed by the big news of victory that just dropped in (Wing Commander Abhinandan's release from Pakistan on Friday), there's a surge in the applications from film producers to register movie titles based on the events. While the prayers of the entire country have finally been answered as Pakistan is set to release Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman from its custody on Friday, several B-Town producers are leaving no stones unturned to milk the opportunity to register titles for prospective films/web series or TV shows based on the recent events, that may or may not be made in future. 

A report on Huffingtonost.in suggests that soon after IAF launched air strikes on Pakistan's terror camp at Balakot on February 26, 2019, the Indian Pictures' Producers association (IMPPA) office in Andheri (Mumbai) witnessed at least five production houses, in a hurry to book patriotic titles of movies that they wished to make in future. The report quoted a person present at the IMPPA office, describing the situation like a "khichdi" of sorts, with producers fighting it out to reseve titles like, Balakot, Surgical Strikes 2.0, Pulwama Attacks and more permutations and combinations of the important keywords indicative of the tension between the two countries. 

The report quoted the person as saying, "After a point, they started discussing amongst themselves, suggesting variations of the same title. It was quite a sight." To a great extent this can be traced to the success of URI which released in January 2019 and went on to cross over Rs 200 crore at the box office. As per the report, some of the titles registered in February include the likes of Josh and How's The Josh - which are both registered by Vikram Malhotra's Abundantia Entertainment. 

Post the February 14 Pulawama Attack in which a convoy of 40 CRPF jawaans was killed in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, the titles that got registered included - Pulwama, Pulwama: The Surgical Strike, War Room, Hindustan Hamara Hai, Pulwama Terror Attack, The Attacks of Pulwama, With Love, From India, and ATS - One Man Show, as per Complete Cinema trade magazine. 

The HuffPost report further shares that an IMPPA representative confirmed to them that the past week saw an overwhelming number of applications for registration of titles related to the IAF's air strike on Pakistan's Balakot in addition to those on Pulwama. Now, as the news of IAF's wing commander Abhinandan's release from Pakistan custody brings a wave of joy among the denizens of the country, we won't be surprised if titles like, 'Abhinandan' or 'Wing Commander Abhinandan' too are registered with IMPPA in no time. 

Pulwama attack: US, UK, France ask UN to blacklist Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar

The United States, Britain and France proposed on Wednesday that the United Nations Security Council blacklist the head of Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed, which said it attacked an Indian paramilitary convoy in disputed Kashmir.

However, the move is likely to be opposed by China, which previously prevented the Security Council's Islamic State and al Qaeda sanctions committee from sanctioning JeM leader Masood Azhar in 2016 and 2017.

China's UN mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new proposal.

The February 14 attack, the most deadly in Kashmir during a 30-year-long insurgency, increased tensions between Pakistan and India with the nuclear-armed neighbours both saying they had shot down each other's fighter jets on Wednesday.

The United States, Britain and France have asked the 15-member Security Council sanctions committee to subject Azhar to an arms embargo, global travel ban and asset freeze. The committee operates by consensus and members have until March 13 to raise objections, according to the proposal seen by Reuters.

When the council committee previously considered blacklisting Azhar in 2017 the Chinese Foreign Ministry said there were clear rules for listing a person or group as a terrorist, and that China has always believed the relevant U.N. committee should operate on the principles of objectivity.