NASA launches satellite to track Earth's melting ice
Washington, Sep 15 : In a bid to understand Earth's ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice, snow cover and permafrost, NASA on Saturday successfully launched its Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2, or ICESat-2.
The satellite with a three-year mission was launched at 9.02 a.m EDT on September 15, with liftoff aboard a Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
"Today was the #Delta II's final launch! ULALaunch used the last #Delta II rocket for the 9:02 a.m EDT liftoff of NASA_ICE's #ICESat2 this morning. Once on orbit, #ICESat2 will measure the thickness of Earth's polar ice sheets," the US space agency said in a tweet.
NASA had earlier in the day said the weather is favourable for the launch.
"The forecast remains 100 per cent 'go' on all constraints," Lt. Daniel Smith of Launch Weather Officer said while briefing the team on forecast.
It also carries twin ELFIN CubeSats
"Today's #ICESat2 launch comes with a bonus -- a pair of tiny satellites that will study how energetic electrons make their way into our atmosphere from space," NASA tweeted.
The Delta II rocket, in use since 1989, has a stellar track record. It has launched 154 times, carrying payloads aloft for NASA, the US military and commercial clients.
ICESat-2 is NASA's most advanced Laser instrument -- the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System, or ATLAS.
It measures height by precisely timing how long it takes individual photons of light from a Laser to leave the satellite, bounce off Earth and return to the satellite.
The satellite will provide critical observations of how ice sheets, glaciers and sea ice are changing, leading to insights into how these changes impact people where they live, NASA said.
ICESat-2's orbit will make 1,387 unique ground tracks around Earth in 91 days and then start the same ground pattern again at the beginning.
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Karnataka Milk Federation enters Delhi-NCR, offers competitive pricing on Nandini products
New Delhi, Nov 21: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday launched the Karnataka Milk Federation's (KMF) Nandini brand milk products in the Delhi-NCR market, pricing them marginally lower than competitors to gain a foothold in the region.
The cooperative will retail four cow milk variants, curd, and buttermilk from Friday, with competitive pricing that undercuts established players like Mother Dairy and Amul.
Cow milk will be sold at Rs 56 per litre, full Cream Milk at Rs 67 per litre, Standardised Milk at Rs 61 per litre, Toned Milk at Rs 55 per litre, and curd at Rs 74 per kg.
"We have surplus milk in the state. KMF along with Mandya Milk Union will market surplus milk of 3-4 lakh litres per day in Delhi-NCR," Siddaramaiah told reporters after launching the products.
The federation currently collects 100 lakh litres of milk daily, with local consumption at 60 lakh litres, leaving a surplus of 40 lakh litres for expansion into new markets.
However, the Chief Minister acknowledged the challenges of transporting milk over 2,500 km, which takes 50-54 hours.
There is a need to find new markets for surplus milk and gradually the KMF should be able to sell 5-6 lakh litres per day in Delhi-NCR, he added.
KMF Chairman LBP Bheemanaik assured that milk quality would be maintained during transit.
The federation has already partnered with 40 dealers in the Delhi-NCR region to facilitate sales, he added.
With a robust infrastructure of 26.76 lakh milk producers, 15,737 dairy cooperative societies, and 15 district milk unions, KMF has a turnover of Rs 25,000 crore and exports dairy products to over 25 countries.
State Animal Husbandry Minister K Venkatesh and Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy were present at the product launch.
ದೇಶದ ಹಾಲು ಉತ್ಪಾದನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗುಜರಾತ್ ಮೊದಲ ಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದರೆ, ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಎರಡನೇ ಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿದೆ.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) November 21, 2024
ದೆಹಲಿ ನಗರದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆ.ಎಂ.ಎಫ್ ಮತ್ತು ಮಂಡ್ಯ ಹಾಲು ಒಕ್ಕೂಟಗಳು ಸೇರಿಕೊಂಡು ವಿವಿಧ ಶ್ರೇಣಿಯ ಹಾಲನ್ನು ಮಾರುಕಟ್ಟೆಗೆ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಮಾಡಿವೆ. ದೆಹಲಿಯ ನಿವಾಸಿಗಳಿಂದ ನಂದಿನಿ ಉತ್ಪನ್ನಗಳಿಗೆ ಅತ್ಯುತ್ತಮ ಸ್ಪಂದನೆ ದೊರೆಯಲಿದೆ ಎಂಬ ವಿಶ್ವಾಸ ನನಗಿದೆ.… pic.twitter.com/yUmTQknGzD
