The US space probe “Stardust” which i reffered in my earlier blog was reportedly in superb condition after returning to Earth Sunday carrying precious dust from stars and comets, according to mission officials.
The 46-kilogram (101-pound) capsule was in “absolute excellent condition” after landing in the Utah desert, ending a seven-year journey across billions of kilometers (miles) in space, said Joe Vellinga, the Stardust program manager for US aeronautics firm Lockheed Martin.
Launched in 1999, Stardust collected the samples in the first attempt to gather, beyond the Moon, space particles that date back to before our solar system was born, or about 4.5 billion years ago.
Scientists believe the samples could offer vital clues about the origins of our solar system.
“I am very proud to say that after seven years and almost 2.9 billion miles (4.63 billion kilometers), in a harsh environement space, the Stardust capsule is back on earth, back home in our hands,” said Andrew A. Dantzler, director of NASA’s Solar System Division. as reported in CNN.com
NASA described the capsule’s entry speed — at 46,444 kilometers per hour (28,860 miles per hour) — as the fastest ever of any human-made object, topping the record set in May 1969 by the returning Apollo 10 command module.
“When we saw that drop chute open, we knew we were home safe,” said Tom Duxbury, the mission’s manager for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

After a seven-year journey, US space probe Stardust is scheduled to deliver to Earth on Sunday samples of rare dust it has collected from stars and comets that scientists believe could offer vital clues about the solar system’s origins.

A capsule weighing 46 kilograms (101 pounds) and carrying a teaspoonful of space dust is expected to land in a Utah desert at 1012 GMT Sunday after flying 4.63 billion kilometers (2.88 billion miles) in space, or 10,000 times more than the distance separating Earth from the Moon.
The samples were collected during the first attempt to gather beyond the Moon space particles that date back to before the solar system was born, or about 4.5 billion years ago.
It also follows the 1972 mission of Apollo 17 that allowed US astronauts to bring Moon rocks back to Earth.
“Locked within the cometary particles is unique chemical and physical information that could be the record of the formation of the planets and the materials from which they were made,” said Don Brownlee, Stardust principal investigator at the University of Washington, Seattle.
Launched in 1999, the 385-kilogram (849-pound) probe, circled the Sun twice and then flew in January 2002 by comet Wild 2, which was located at the time next to Jupiter.
During the hazardous traverse, the spacecraft first deployed a shield to protect itself from gases and space dust contained in the halo of the comet.
It then flew within 240 kilometers (149 miles) of Wild 2, catching samples of comet particles and scoring detailed pictures of Wild 2’s pock-marked surface.
The 72 pictures of Wild 2 taken by the probe show its rugged surface, including craters as well as about 20 “geysers” spewing gas and dust.
During 195 days of the flight, NASA engineers used a collector to gather interstellar dust that will allow scientists to study the make-up of stars.
The special collector contains aerogel, a unique substance that can trap the particles and store the precious cargo safely until it’s returned to Earth.
Mary Cleave, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said the load Stardust will return to Earth could help space explorers on many future missions.
“Comets are some of the most informative occupants of the solar system,” she said. “The more we can learn from science exploration missions like Stardust, the more we can prepare for human exploration to the moon, Mars and beyond.”
If everything goes according to plan, on Sunday at 0557 GMT, Stardust will release its return capsule.
About Four hours later, the capsule will enter Earth’s atmosphere 410,000 feet (125 kilometers) over the Pacific Ocean.
The capsule will release a drogue parachute at approximately 105,000 feet (32 kilometers).
Once the capsule has descended to about 10,000 feet (three kilometers), its main parachute will deploy.
The capsule is scheduled to land at a military base in Utah at 1012 GMT.
After the capsule lands, a helicopter crew will fly it to the US Army Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, for initial processing.
If the weather is inclement and helicopters cannot fly, special off-road vehicles will retrieve the capsule and return it to Dugway.
The samples will be moved to a special laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, where they will be preserved and studied.
The analysis could take scientists as long as 10 years. The work, according to one scientist, could be compared to finding 45 ants on a football field, studying five square centimeters of earth at a time.
To help the researchers, the University of California, Berkeley, has launched a drive to recruit 30,000 volunteer students, who will have access to a powerful microscope via the Internet.

MultipleMode of DOS operations.. 

Blasting space ships can be mighty fun, as anyone who’s ever played Galaga can tell you. The Air Force thinks it can put all that joystick time to good use, too — by using games to help airmen prepare for real-life outer space combat.
The service is looking for game maker to build a sim for what it calls “counterspace operations” — military-speak for stopping enemy satellites.
Right now, it’s hard to train folks to handle these kinds of missions. Wargaming in orbit is an expensive and risky proposition. And most – but definitely not all — of the coolest counterspace toys are still on the drawing board. So the Air Force wants a video game “where these tasks can be trained and rehearsed in a realistic set of scenarios and simulations.”
“Access to any classified data would be eliminated” in the simulation, the Air Force says in its request for proposals (scroll down). “[B]ut the training that is provided could be conceptually valid and of sufficient fidelity to support the key [counterpsace] tasks.”
The idea of using games to train kids for a space fight has been around for years – at least since 1985’s sci-fi classic, Ender’s Game.
The U.S. armed forces have been using games to prep its troops for even longer. Back in World War II, a flight simulator in New York’s Coney Island amusement park was turned into a training tool for military pilots. Recent years have only brought the worlds of gaming and the world of war closer, as more of combat has become a matter of pushing the right buttons; and the game have grown more realistic.
Still, you’ve got to hope that this new sim won’t be too true-to-life. What’s a space game, after all, without a tractor beams and a “challenging stage?”

Land Based Satellite/ASAT Weapons 

Counter Space Weapons Intended or in Service with the USAF 

Light Combat Aircraft – “TEJAS”

Background:The Light Combat Aircraft Program was started with Two Goals, a, Indigenous Production of a combat aircraft for the Air force with its requirement as a base rather than stretching or curtailing operational parameters. b, To replace the aging MiG-21 Fighters/Fighter-Bombers, nearing (or some say) end of operational life.Conception & Development :Due to the force’s familiarity with old-soviet era hardware and the mission parameters , the basic design overlay and requirement was floated by the then Air force operations directorate. The DRDO, HAL and various agencies were involved in the initial design of the same by 1983 (that was when I was 3 yrs old L) . In 1985 the overall coordination of the project was given to the Aeronautical Development Agency., With HAL taking the back seat as prime contractor. HAL brought about the integration of the various works being done under various Govt. labs and Universities (including IITs of course) . But like most of the programs before (I really am ashamed to state it here) some technology wasn’t in place or cannot be sourced. But that didn’t stop the development though significantly delayed, It was decided to design 2-4 Technology demonstrators to see if we could design this. And viola.! By 1995 march the 1st of the TD-1 was rolled out . And soon certain problems emerged like the composites (which up to that stage were never fabricated in India or worst didn’t had facilities for their fabrication in a mass level) and some 3 years we also got the Sanctions from Clinton administration due to the “Laughing Buddha” events., and the GE404 engines were in the list of restricted technologies and we hadn’t had a clue how to test the Indigenous “Kaveri” engine for Hi-Altitude Flight simulation and had to get help from the Russian(S) friends, though they were more interested in selling the Klimov 513E engines rather than test our engines . And finally we somehow tested and being making some improvements (what its, I really don’t understand , may be they are doing the engines MS style. Releasing or completing before the proj is over and sending SP and bug fixes for five years). And in 2003 we also named in “Tejas” by our former PM . Vajpayee. Now we are really in a breakthrough (the reason I thought of posting it in the 1st place) The Engine is in place and the technology (I really admire the electronics part (not bcoz I am an electronics engr) but because its really amazing)

Features:
If I told you , that it’s the world’s most technologically advanced fighter in its class , would you believe me? . but the answer is surprisingly yes.
The digital FBW system of the LCA is built around a quadrauplex redundant architecture to give it a fail-op-fail-op-fail safe capability. It employs a powerful digital flight control computer (DFCC) comprising four (independent ) computing channels, each powered by an independent power supply and all housed in a single line replaceable unit (LRU). The system is designed to meet a probability of loss of control of better than 1×10-7 per flight hour. The DFCC channels are built around 32-bit microprocessors (though talks suggest this may be upgraded to the 64bit elrbus based core manufactured locally in BEL in operational versions) and use a safe subset of Ada language for the implementation of software. The DFCC receives signals from quad rate, acceleration sensors, pilot control stick, rudder pedal, triplex air data system, dual air flow angle sensors, RWR , Satellite Navigation Beacons, C4P and many others mission and op-sensors. The DFCC channels excite and control the elevon, rudder and leading edge slat hydraulic actuators. The computer interfaces with pilot display elements like multifunction displays through MIL-STD-1553B avionics bus and RS 422 serial link. Multi-mode radar (MMR) is the primary mission sensor of the LCA in its air defence role, will be a key determinant of the operational effectiveness of the fighter. This is an X-band, pulse Doppler radar with air-to-air, air-to-ground and air-to-sea modes. Its track-while-scan capability caters to radar functions under multiple target environment

And when I tell its amazing , I mean the following ,

This quadrauplex redundancy is yet to be perfected by Boeing and (believe) Boeing is talking with HAL for the Tech-transfer for that.
This elevon , rudder and leading control surface is really one of its kind tech and Not even Lockheed-Martin F-22 has been able to adapt it .(its said the F-35 and Eurofighter along with S-37(not su-37)employs them )
The Antenna is really very-light in weight , supposedly <5Kg and can simultaneously track upto 25 targets and can lock on to 2 diff target at once (ie. An Arial target and a ground or sea based target whose coordinates can be passed to other fighter-bombers or sea/land assets or may be it can engage with its ordinance itself) . this capability is new in our country outside of Vetrivel (Su-30MKI) Actually I can write on and on but its really great with one short coming though the engines and their development. And I personally feel that we can go on for some engine intermediately while kaveri is being developed . May be Klimov or Snemeca (I don’t favour Ge404 or B.Ae because they are highly underpowered than the airforce’s requirement) Other technical specs are given below.

HISTORY:
First Flight : January 2001

Service Entry :planned for 2005 to 2010

CREW: 1 (Pilot)

ESTIMATED COST: $21 million (FY:2000)

AIRFOIL SECTIONS:
Wing Root : composites and Duralmium Alloy
Wing Tip : FRB and Titanium aluminium alloy

DIMENSIONS:
Length 43.27 ft (13.20 m)
Wingspan 26.88 ft (8.20 m)
Height 14.42 ft (4.40 m)
Wing Area 412.6 ft2 (38.4 m2)
Canard Area :not applicable

WEIGHTS:
Empty 12,125 lb (5,500 kg)
Typical Load 18,740 lb (8,500 kg)
[clean] Max Takeoff 27,560 lb (12,500 kg)
Fuel Capacity internal: 795 gal (3,000 L)
external: 1,055 gal (4,000 L)
Max Payload 8,820 lb (4,000 kg)

PROPULSION:

Powerplant (prototype) one General Electric F404-F2J3 turbofan
(production) one GTRE GTX-35VS Kaveri turbofan

Thrust (F404) 18,100 lb (80.50 kN)(GTX) 20,200 lb (89.86 kN)

PERFORMANCE:
Max Level Speed at altitude: 1,195 mph (1,920 km/h)
at 36,000 ft (11,000 m), Mach 1.8 at sea level: unknown
Initial Climb Rate unknown
Service Ceiling 50,000 ft (15,250 m)
Range 460 nm (850 km) g-Limits +9 / -3.5

ARMAMENT: Gun one 23-mm GSh-23 twin-barrel cannon (220 rds) Stations seven external hardpoints Air-to-Air Missile medium- and short-range AAM Air-to-Surface Missile up to two conventional cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles Bomb laser-guided bombs, conventional bombs Other rocket pods

KNOWN VARIANTS: LCA-TD-1 First technology demonstrator equipped with a General Electric F404 turbofan LCA-TD-2 Second technology demonstrator LCA-PV-1 thru PV-4 Single-seat prototype vehicles that should be at or very close to production form, equipped with in-flight refueling capability LCA-PV-5 Two-seat trainer prototype vehicle LCA Production model for the Indian Air Force Trainer Two-seat trainer model Navy model A navalized version with strengthened landing gear and a redesigned forward fus
elage has been proposed for use aboard a future Indian aircraft carrier MCA Planned Medium Combat Aircraft derived from the LCA, supposed to possess greater stealth characteristics and thrust-vectoring capability

KNOWN COMBAT RECORD: not yet in combat service
KNOWN OPERATORS: India ·

Sources and Methods
Specs from FAS and many petty discussion groups and some official groups like DRDO and ADA. Picture courtesy of ADA and may be subject to copyright .

Special Thanks : I really longed long to write this long time before but since Chandra asked me to post some details If I can .

For Further information See:
www.drdo.com/products/lca.htm
www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/row/lca.htm
www.defencejournal.com/jun99/lca.htm
www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Info/LCA-Section.html
http://www.ada.gov.in/

We have recently gone through a very familiar dilemma, moving the MySQL database server of a nascent solution from a hybrid On-Premise and Azure environment to the AWS Infrastructure. Whether to go with a couple of EC2 instances and have a master-slave configuration or to go with AWS’ packaged offering for the RDBMS, viz., RDS. 
This is, in fact not a new question at all.  It would have come to any person who was getting plugged into AWS/Cloud infrastructure. Personally, for me, it was like 5th or 6th Datacenter setup in AWS. Still, the reason I had this question is, in part due to the fact that the solution I was trying to port was very nascent and was not having super high write-rate requirements.
So, in the absence of high-throughput requirements, did it really made sense to go to a full-blown RDS setup? Or is it worth the time to install, configure a 2 node cluster and write some automation scripts for backup, recovery, etc?
Question: What does RDS really offer that you cannot get with a self-configured MYSQL on RDS
Answer: It really boils down to the situation and the preference you have for control, flexibility and performance/high-availability.
 
 
 

If your job involves making technology suggestions