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- Dr T Srinivas Kumar Appointed Earth Sciences Secretary Vikram Rocket Launch
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Today’s major current affairs, which are important for students preparing for government jobs-
NATIONAL
Today the first testing of private orbital-class rocket Vikram-1 will take place.
- On July 18, India’s private space company Skyroot Aerospace will conduct the first test of its first orbital-class rocket Vikram-1.
- This mission of Skyroot Aerospace is being operated under the name of Arrival. It will be launched from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.
- This rocket will place small satellites in Earth’s orbit. Several payloads are expected to be carried in this mission.
- During its first test flight, Vikram-1 will reach an orbit of 450 km at an inclination of 60 degrees.
- The purpose of Vikram-1 Cosmoserv is to test the world’s first ‘Soft Robotic Capture System’ in orbit.
- This technology has been designed to capture defunct satellites and orbital debris using flexible robotic arms.
- This technology aims to solve one of the biggest challenges facing the space industry – the problem of space junk.
- The company said that the purpose of ‘Mission Arrival’ is also to test the performance of Skyroot’s orbital launch vehicle and important technologies during the flight.
- Vikram-1 is the second space mission of Skyroot. Earlier in 2022, Skyroot had also successfully tested Vikram-S suborbital.
- Vikram-S was the first privately built rocket to reach space from Indian soil.
Vikram-1
- Vikram-1 has been designed and developed by Skyroot Aerospace.
- It is named after the father of the Indian space programme, Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.
- This vehicle has been designed to carry small satellites weighing up to 350 kg into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
This rocket is made entirely of carbon-composite material, which is 5 times lighter than steel and extremely strong.
2. The first hydrogen train started in the country
- On July 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off India’s first hydrogen train.
- This train was flagged off from Jind railway station in Haryana. It has been named ‘NaMo Green Rail’.
- This is a ‘zero pollution’ train completely based on indigenous technology.
- In this, fuel cells are used to generate electricity, which runs the electric motor of the train.
- With this, India has become the fifth country in the world to run hydrogen trains after Germany, France, Sweden and China.
- Hydrogen train will be a big step towards reducing pollution and green transport.
- This hydrogen train is part of the ‘Hydrogen for Heritage’ scheme.
- Under this, there is a plan to run 35 such hydrogen trains on different historical (heritage) and hilly routes of the country.
hydrogen train
- These are trains that run on hydrogen fuel instead of diesel.
- In this, fuel cells are used to generate electricity, which runs the electric motor of the train.
- Hydrogen gas is stored in tanks on the roof of the train and the chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen in the air takes place in the fuel cell.
- Electricity is generated through this process. This electricity runs the electric motors of the train.
PM Modi flagged off the hydrogen train for Sonipat at Jind railway station.
Appointment
3. T Srinivas Kumar appointed Secretary of Earth Sciences
- On July 16, the Central Government appointed senior oceanographer Dr. T. Srinivas Kumar Tummala as the new Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
- Earth Science is a major ministry of the Government of India, which works for forecasting and research on weather, climate, oceans, seismology and natural disasters.
- He will hold this post for 2 years. He started his career as a scientist at Srinath ISRO in 1998.
- Srinath worked on remote sensing, geospatial technology and disaster management projects in 2001.
- Srinath has also worked in the Advisory Service and Satellite Oceanography Group.
- Srinath has led ocean information services, ocean forecasting and satellite based ocean monitoring programs.
- In 2024, Srinath worked as UNESCO-IOC Head, Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (IOTWMS) Secretariat in Perth (Australia).
Srinath has also worked in the Advisory Service and Satellite Oceanography Group.
4. PM Narendra Modi visited Chandigarh and Punjab
- On July 17, PM Narendra Modi visited Chandigarh and Punjab.
- PM Modi laid the foundation stone and inaugurated projects worth more than ₹12,070 crore.
- Besides, PM Modi will also inaugurate 75 Amrit Bharat Scheme railway stations of the country from Jalandhar.
- PM Modi inaugurated Jalandhar Cantt Railway Station and flagged off the new Srisant Ravidas Express running between Amritsar-Varanasi.
International
5. Rafale fighter plane reached Darwin
- On July 17, a contingent of the Indian Air Force (IAF) reached Australia to participate in exercise ‘Pitch Black 2026’.
- The Indian Air Force has sent a contingent of more than 120 soldiers along with four Rafale and two C-17 aircraft to Australia for exercises.
- The ‘Pitch Black 2026’ exercise will be held from July 20 to August 7 at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Darwin, Tindal and Amberley bases in Northern Australia.
- About 100 jet aircraft and more than 2,500 soldiers from 20 countries will participate in this exercise.
- Indian Air Force contingent will participate in complex air exercises in collaboration with the air forces of Indo-Pacific and European countries.
- This is another step towards increasing defense cooperation between the two countries. This will increase mutual coordination and operational knowledge between the two countries.
- Exercise ‘Pitch Black 2026’ is the biggest training of the Air Force with our partners and friendly countries.
- Exercise ‘Pitch Black’, held in Darwin since 1983, is the RAAF’s premier international air exercise.
- The exercise will involve aircraft from India, US, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Germany, France and Spain.
Military personnel from New Zealand, Fiji, Canada, Brunei, Malaysia, Finland and Sweden will also participate in this exercise.
Miscellaneous
6. Air India launches new app for air booking
- On July 16, Air India launched its mobile app with new features to make travel easier.
- In case of flight delay or cancellation, passengers will get direct information through the app.
- In any such situation, complete information about hotel stay and cab to reach there will also be available directly through the app.
- With this, booking tickets, choosing seats, choosing meals, web check-in, checking flight status and managing the journey can be done in a single app.
- Status of checked-in luggage can be tracked in real-time. Instant information about gate change, boarding time and flight status.
today’s history
- In 1743, for the first time in the world, a half-page advertisement was published in the weekly newspaper New York.
- In 1872, the Secret Ballot Act came into force in Britain. Before this, voting was done openly.
- The Indian Independence Act, passed by the British Parliament in 1947, was approved by the British monarch.
- In 1980, the satellite ‘Rohini-1’, completely made in India, was placed in the Earth’s orbit.
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