Indian Navy successfully test-fires BrahMos missile
New Delhi, Mar 5: The Indian Navy on Sunday successfully test-fired in the Arabian Sea the ship-launched version of the BrahMos supersonic missile.
The missile that was tested had the indigenous "seeker and booster', officials said.
"The Indian Navy carried out a successful precision strike in the Arabian Sea by ship launched BrahMos missile with DRDO-designed indigenous seeker and booster, reinforcing our commitment towards Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) in defence," said a senior military official.
BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd, an India-Russian joint venture, produces supersonic cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms.
BrahMos missile flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound.
The anti-ship version of the supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired jointly by the Indian Navy and the Andaman and Nicobar Command in April last year.
India is also exporting BrahMos missiles.
In January last year, India sealed a USD 375 million deal with the Philippines for supplying three batteries of the missile.
Indian Navy carried out a successful precision strike in the Arabian Sea by ship launched BrahMos missile with DRDO designed Indigenous Seeker and Booster, reinforcing commitment towards AatmaNirbharta: Indian Navy pic.twitter.com/0i5ED0v8Ff
— ANI (@ANI) March 5, 2023
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Chinese astronauts return to earth safely after six-month stint in space station
Beijing, Nov 4: Three Chinese astronauts who spent six months developing China’s low orbit space station returned to Earth safely early Monday, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said.
The capsule of the spaceship Shenzhou-18' carrying astronauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong and Li Guangsu, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 1:24 am (Beijing Time).
The three astronauts, after staying in orbit for 192 days, were all in good health and the Shenzhou-18 manned mission was a success, the CMSA said.
Ye, the Shenzhou-18 mission commander, has become the first Chinese astronaut with an accumulative spaceflight time of more than a year, setting a new record for the longest duration of stay in orbit by a Chinese astronaut.
He served as a crew member in the Shenzhou-13 mission from October 2021 to April 2022.
"Chinese astronauts have flown to space in successive missions. I believe that the record of the duration in orbit will be broken in the near future," Ye said.
Another astronaut Li Guangsu said that they grew two types of plants -- cherry tomatoes and lettuce -- and they had harvested some lettuce leaves for food.
"Being able to eat fresh vegetables in space is truly a blessing. These green plants have also brought a touch of green and good cheer to our busy work," Li was quoted by state-run Xinhua news agency.
China launched the Shenzhou-18 manned spaceship in April this year.
During the mission, the Shenzhou-18 crew utilised the scientific experiment cabinets and extravehicular payloads to carry out dozens of experiments in the fields of basic physics in microgravity, space material science, space life science, space medicine and space technology, Xinhua report said.
The three were relieved by another set of three Chinese astronauts, including a woman who docked with the orbiting space station on October 30.
China changes crew for the station every six months.
China built its space station after it was reportedly excluded from the International Space Station (ISS) over concerns that China's space programme is manned by its military, the People's Liberation Army, (PLA).
The two robotic arms of the station, especially the long one which has the ability to grab objects including satellites from space, drew international concerns.
Early this month China announced its plans for the further development of space programmes which included launching a manned lunar mission, construction of a lunar space station, exploration of habitable planets and extra-terrestrial life to expand its space programme in the next few decades.
