RazakSAT

After the success of Razaksat in 2009, Malaysia is going to embark on the second Razaksat called Razaksat2.

The Malaysian government has decided to expand the country’s satellite development programme with an approved allocation ceiling of RM200 million for the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) to embark on a 5 year RazakSAT-2 programme.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili said on Friday 9th September 2011 in Shah Alam, Selangor that the allocation under the 10th Malaysia Plan would allow Malaysia to continue with the next phase of the RazakSAT satellite programme, to be driven by the National Space Agency (ANGKASA) and Astronautic Technology (M) Sdn Bhd (ATSB).

“The allocation reflects the government’s commitment in ensuring Malaysia maintains its world leadership in operating remote sensing satellites in the Near Equatorial Orbit (NEqO),” he said.

The RazakSAT-2 programme will be based on home-grown innovation, as a continuity of the RazakSAT Satellite Programme that was launched on July 14, 2009 which became a ground breaking epic as the world’s first remote sensing satellite launched into NEqO.

“Being a ground breaking effort, the operations of RazakSAT in the NEqO posed significant challenges. However, RazakSAT engineers, with the Malaysian innovative spirit, have been able to address most of the challenges, achieving success with RazakSAT capturing more than 1,000 images to date.

“The images will be utilised for various applications such as mapping, agriculture, fishery as well as urban and coastal monitoring,” Dr Ongkili added.

Typically, satellites for remote sensing have a life span of three years in space.

The technological scope of development for RazakSAT-2 shall be to upgrade systems capability, notably for satellite hardware and software.

The programme will continue to add to Malaysia’s already established in-house capability to develop space technologies from its present base of having developed 166 engineers and scientists involved in the programme, with participation of over 100 local vendors.

The development cycle will involve the manufacturing of several engineering models in order to minimise operational risks. RazakSAT-2 is expected to be completed in 2015.

“The programme will also enable the national space technology initiative to strengthen, promote and develop research and development, enhance commercialisation of geoinformation products and services through comprehensive R&D activities, as well as training and human capital development,” the minister said.

An inter-ministerial committee will be set up, coordinated by MOSTI, to manage and optimise the resources from the satellite for national use.

“The expansion of the programme will provide opportunities for Malaysia to export its expertise, capabilities and sharing of knowledge with the world. This includes to penetrate the international markets and herald the supply chain that supports the government’s aspiration to promote innovation,” Maximus added.

Dr Ongkili said that space and satellite technology would contribute to the economic growth and gross national income through its supply chain and employment opportunities gained as part of the technology spin-off initiatives.

“The government is fully committed towards enriching the societal wellbeing through science and technology, specifically in space and satellite technology development programmes.

“Both upstream and downstream space activities are required to mature the industry. The human capital development is essential for the new breed of knowledge workers while sustaining the existing local talent as part of the “brain gain” initiative towards Malaysia achieving high income nation status,” added Dr Ongkili.

Dr Ongkili said this during a visit to ATSB accompanied by his deputy Datuk Fadillah Yusof, the ministry’s secretary-general Dato’ Madinah Mohamad and senior ministry officials. Also present were ATSB chairman Datuk Noraini Ahmad and CEO Datuk Dr Ahmad Sabirin Arshad.

Source : Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry, MOSTI

An Invention Which Can Solve Power Crisis

An Artificial Leaf Invented Which Can Solve Power Crisis

Scientists have created the world’s first practical artificial leaf that can turn sunlight and water into energy, which they claim could pave the way for a cheaper source of power.

An important step toward realizing the dream of an inexpensive and simple “artificial leaf,” a device to harness solar energy by splitting water molecules, has been accomplished by two separate teams of researchers at MIT

A team at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) says that the artificial leaf from silicon, electronics and various catalysts which spur chemical reactions within the device, can use sunlight to break water into hydrogen and oxygen which can then be used to create electricity in a separate fuel cell.

Making hydrogen gas (the bubbles) from a solar cell in water, a Sun Catalytix prototype.

“A practical artificial leaf has been one of the Holy Grails of science for decades. We believe we have done it. And placed in a gallon of water and left in sun, these artificial leaves could provide a home in the developing world with basic electricity for a day,” Daniel Nocera, who led the team, said.

He added: “Our goal is to make each home its own power station. One can envision villages in India and Africa not long from now purchasing an affordable basic power system based on this technology.”

Both teams produced devices that combine a standard silicon solar cell with a catalyst developed three years ago by professor Daniel Nocera. When submerged in water and exposed to sunlight, the devices cause bubbles of oxygen to separate out of the water.

The next step to producing a full, usable artificial leaf, explains Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy and professor of chemistry, will be to integrate the final ingredient: an additional catalyst to bubble out the water’s hydrogen atoms. In the current devices, hydrogen atoms are simply dissociated into the solution as loose protons and electrons. If a catalyst could produce fully formed hydrogen molecules (H₂), the molecules could be used to generate electricity or to make fuel for vehicles. Realization of that step, Nocera says, will be the subject of a forthcoming paper.

The reports by the two teams were published in the journals Energy & Environmental Science on May 12, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on June 6. Nocera encouraged two different teams to work on the project so that each could bring their special expertise to addressing the problem, and says the fact that both succeeded “speaks to the versatility of the catalyst system.”

Nocera’s ultimate goal is to produce an “artificial leaf” so simple and so inexpensive that it could be made widely available to the billions of people in the world who lack access to adequate, reliable sources of electricity. What’s needed to accomplish that, in addition to stepping up the voltage, is the addition of a second catalyst material to the other side of the silicon cell, Nocera says.

The “leaf” system, by contrast, is “still a science project,” Nocera says. “We haven’t even gotten to what I would call an engineering design.” He hopes, however, that the artificial leaf could become a reality within three years.

Referance: Today's Technology 

Cars To Call For Help After Crashes

EU Plans For Cars To Call For Help After Crashes

By 2015, the European Parliament wants all new cars to automatically alert emergency services in case of a crash, a service known as eCall. The Parliament adopted a resolution to this effect in a show of hands on Tuesday, and urged the European Commission to make eCall law.

The introduction of eCall, technologydesigned to automatically call the European emergency number 112 when a car crashes, would enable rescue services to arrive faster, saving up to 2,500 lives a year and reducing the severity of injuries by 10 to 15 percent, according to the European Parliament.

The eCall system is triggered by sensors in the vehicle like those which cause protective airbags to explode in a crash. Once triggered, the device automatically contacts the nearest emergency service centre, via the 112 service. It transmits the exact location of the vehicle and other data, such as the make of the car, and establishes a voice connection with the emergency services operator.

The eCall systems will also use satellites and mobile telephony caller location to determine the location of the crashed car. Based on the location, eCall will contact the nearest emergency center, and will also send a minimum set of data (MSD) that includes time, the direction in which the vehicle was travelling, vehicle identification, an indication if eCall was automatically or manually triggered and information about a possible service provider. Sending the extra data is likely to reduce misunderstanding and stress and helps to eliminate language barriers between the vehicle occupants and the operator, said the parliament.

The system must not be used to monitor a person’s movements or determine his or her location unless that person has been involved in an accident, the parliament said.

The full deployment of eCall requires cooperation between public authorities, car companies and mobile phone operators. If eCall becomes mandatory the car manufacturers will have to build it into every new car, and member states will have to upgrade their emergency call systems to comply with the eCall standards. Not all the member states have agreed to use the system and those who did are still in the process of implementing it.

LEDAKAN FACEBOOK ANTARA PAHALA DAN DOSA

Pada 1 Jan 2013 penulis pergi kesebuah shopping complex bersama keluarga sementara menunggu mereka membeli belah. Penulis sempat ketempat bahagian buku sambil melihat beberapa buah buku dirak berkenaan penulis tertarik dengan tajuk sebuah buku iaitu “LEDAKAN FACEBOOK ANTARA PAHALA DAN DOSA” yang ditulis oleh seorang Pensyarah sebuah universiti tempatan iaitu Dr. Zaharudin.

Penulis sempat membaca sepintas lalu buku berkenaan….buku ini menarik perhatian penulis antaranya disebutkan tiap2 hari terdapat berjuta orang menggunakan laman ini untuk berinteraksi dan lain-lain lagi. Penyebaran maklumat saperti majlis ilmu dan kata-kata nasihat adalah sesuatu yang dianggap pahala oleh penulis buku berkenaan. Namun jika kita menggunakan disebaliknya menyebarkan berita2 yang berbentuk fitnah, menyebarkan gambar-gambar yang mendedahkan aurat. Dan ada pula yang dahulu zaman sekolah, kolej…dan Universiti menutup aurat akan tetapi apabila sudah bekerja sudah jadi lain….kemudian apabila rakan2 mereka mendedahkan gambar2 mereka ini yang bertutup lintup….maka mereka pula memberi komen lain tuan empunya badan kata itu dulu. Zaman budak-budak.

Cerita-cerita gossip mengedarkan gambar2 yang terbuka sana sini, membuka aib suami/ isteri di dalam Facebook adalah antara yang disebut dalam buku berkenaan. Ini mendorong kepada Dosa….apatah lagi beribu orang akan melihat nya makin banyak orang melihat nya makin besar saham nya auzubillah…..oleh yang demikian gunalah medium ini kearah kebaikan sebenarnya untuk mencari pahala amat lah mudah. Jika kita menyebarkan  maklumat contohnya majlis Ilmu tak kiralah Buat Kelas RAE …Kelas Antenna, kita dapat pahala….Apatah lagi jika anda sebarkan maklumat saperti ini di Facebook  “Untuk Maklumat Semua mari kita sama2 hadiri Majlis Sambutan di Ambang tahun baru 2013 bersama  Dr. Mohd Ali Al Shobuni dan Ustaz Haslin Bahrin di Dataran Shah Alam pada 31/12/2012". Maklumat saperti ini lah menjurus kita kepada kebaikan namun berapa ramai antara kita pada hari ini yang berani melakukan nya??? Ada mungkin sedikit....

Mengapa hari ini kita amat malu atau takut, tak berani menyuruh kearah kebaikan akan tetapi kita tidak malu menyebarkan cerita2 fitnah..gosip sana, gossip sini, menggunakan kata yang kesat…cerita2 yang sensasi saperti ini ramai yang response dan LIKE akan tetapi bile saje ada hamba Allah yang menyeru kepada kebaikan response nya mungkin kurang dari 10% atau tiada langsung.  

Semoga tahun 2013 ini kita sama-sama gunakan untuk refleksi diri dan keluarga, mencari inspirasi dan melakukan transformasi diri ke arah takwa dan masuk zon Allah. Selamat tinggal kebanggaan dan kemungkaran.  

Setiap apa yang kita taip di Facebook, kita boleh dapat pahala atau pun dosa..Maka taiplah yang mendapat pahala Allah mari kita sama-sama audit diri kita. Wallahualam....