Sukhoi Superjet 100

India might join Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), the maker of Sukhoi Superjet to build a new airliner of nearly 130-140 seating capacity.

Sukhoi, famous around the world for one of the world's most lethal air dominance combat aircraft: Su-30MKI, also manufactures civil Airliners in Russia. Sukhoi Superjet 100 civil airliner is currently being operated by Russia's state run carrier Aeroflot.

Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), has announced plans to build a new airliner by 2016, which will bridge the gap between the Sukhoi Superjet 100 and the larger MS-21 airliner currently in development.

The company’s CEO Mikhail Pogosyan says, “We are considering an airliner with 130-140 seats as halfway between the Sukhoi Superjet with 110-115 seats and MS-21 with 150-200 seats.”

Russia had earlier approached India with the proposal of developing MS-21 jointly, however India had rejected the offer.

The company aims to manufacture nearly 485 planes between 2012 and 2014, Pogosyan revealed. This year UAC is going to sell 20 Superjets to customers and to start testing the new T-50 fighter with India. Pogosyan also says the company plans to boost its order book by 100 airplanes. Currently UAC has 300 orders for civil aircraft and 278 for military.

MTA (Multirole Transport Aircraft)

Russia has big plans to promote its airliner and occupy a section of the airline manufacturing industry which is currently dominated by western companies like Boeing and Airbus. 

Recently Russia's hopes experienced a setback when Sukhoi Superjet 100 crashed during one of its test flight in Indonesia. The aircraft was flying on a purpose to demonstrate its capabilities to the number of interested parties and potential customers

Today Sukhoi Superjet100 is a successful aircraft developed with the cooperation of Boeing and Russo-French joint venture Powerjet which worked on the 76KN turbofan Engine SaM146. PowerJet is a joint venture between Snecma of France and NPO Saturn of Russia. Snecma is in charge of the core engine, control system, transmissions (accessory gearbox, transfer gearbox), overall engine integration and flight testing. NPO Saturn is responsible for the components in the low pressure section and engine installation on the Sukhoi Superjet 100 regional aircraft and ground testing.

According to Sukhoi, ongoing certification tests have confirmed that the Sukhoi Superjet 100's direct operating costs are 6–8% lower than those of its key competitor, the Embraer 190/195. In terms of total fuel burn per sector, the SSJ is on a par with the Antonov An-148 but can accommodate 22 more passengers. Its lower operating, maintenance and fuel cost makes it attractive for the developing market like India, China, Brazil, South East Asia, Africa and Latin America.

When asked company's CEO Mikhail Pogosyan about creation of an international alliance of aircraft-makers, he said, "The foremost partner could be India, which would provide access to the growing Indian market." Other candidates for the alliance are considered to be China, Indonesia, Italy, South Africa and Ukraine, he added.

Russia already has a good experience of working jointly on projects with Indian companies and government, together Russia and India have successfully developed world's fastest cruise missile Brahmos (in operation). Currently both the countries are jointly developing military aircrafts like T-50 fighter (5th Gen fighter) and MTA transport aircraft program. 

It is reported that the new Airliner will use aluminium fuselage and composite materials for the wing (including center section), elevator and rudder. The new materials will weigh 15 to 20 percent less, increase service life by 20 to 30 percent, reduce operating costs by 10 to 12 percent and reduce energy consumption during manufacture by 10 to 15 percent.

Fuselage plugs will give the new airliner its greater length. It will feature new engines from a source which has not been yet chosen. Some SSJ100 suppliers might be ousted from the new airliner. For example, the developers say the SSJ100 interior from B/E Aerospace may be out, in favor of a lighter and more modern interior from Italian companies.

MS 21 Medium Haul Airliner

If India accepts Sukhoi's offer then it would be India's first ever project in developing a full service international level civil aircraft. This is not the first ever such offer to India. Last year in February 2011, Russia's Irkut Aircraft Corporation had proposed India's HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) to jointly develop MS-21 medium haul airliner. However, India had rejected the offer then, because at that moment HAL's priorities were in developing defence transport aircraft, MTA with Russia and LCA. Also, HAL had no great past experience in manufacturing of civil aircrafts.

This time also HAL's condition is same as the last time, but probably HAL would not like to say no to a bigger brand like Sukhoi.

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Image taken by NASA's Curiosity

On 66th anniversary of India's independence from colonial rule, India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced from the ramparts of Red Fort a mission to the Red Planet.

(ISRO) Indian Space Research Organization, is set to launch a Mars Probe (Mangalyaan) by November 2013. The over 1300-kg satellite will have a provision for carrying nearly 25 kg of scientific payloads on board. ISRO suggests that the tentative objectives of the mission will be to focus on remotely assessing "life, climate, geology, origin and evolution and sustainability of life on the planet".

One of the most reliable launch vehicle in the world which has had 21 consecutively successful flights, PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) will be used to launch this probe from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. India's moon probe Chandrayaan was also launched by this same vehicle.

The voyage from Earth to Mars will take nearly eleven months after which the Orbiter Spaceship will be placed in a highly elliptical orbit of 500 by 80,000 km around Mars. 

"This is technology demonstration project, a mission that will announce to the world India has the capability to reach as far away as Mars," an Isro official said.

Image taken by NASA's Phoenix lander

Since 1960, there have been 44 missions to Mars with just about half of them being successful; attempts have been made by the former USSR and Russia, the US, Europe, Japan and China. The Rs. 450 Crore mission, if successful, will place India among the group of three nations (US, Russia and European Space Agnecy) who have successfully reached Mars orbit. Japan, and China had failed in their attempt.

This mission will be India's second space exploration mission outside the Earth's orbit. First such mission was in November 2008, when India's successful Moon probe (Chandrayaan - 1) made a historical discovery of water on the Moon. The World has high hopes with India that it will come up with something new with the Mars mission as well.

Sunset on Mars

Domestic and International criticism

Many international as well as domestic critics have censured this development saying 'India has more serious and complex problems in the country which it should check first before competing with the developed world in the space race'. India has a high illiteracy and poverty rate and many social and healthcare issues which is a serious stumbling block on the growth path.

The above criticism sounds justified and canonical, unless we see the bigger picture. India's moon mission and the coming Mars mission are not only scientific missions, but also technology demonstration missions. The mission, if successful, will help India claim ascendancy in space exploration. India's projection of progress will attract attention and appreciation from various organizations around the world which will bring more business to the commercial arm of ISRO, Antrix Corporation Limited.

Antrix is responsible for providing launch service, mission support service and various remote sensing and space related data to clients all over the world. ISRO has launched satellites of various countries like Germany, Israel, Belgium, Indonesia, etc. More technology demonstration missions means more clients which brings a lot of income to the Department of Space. This money is utilized in funcding various research projects, technology development and launching of nation supporting satellites like INSAT, IRS, Tele Medicine, EDUSAT and military and spy satellites. 

Also 450 crore is not much amount for India for a mission. It is a no joke, that an Indian politician himself alone can support this mission from his pocket. Thanks to corruption, although availability of such generous politicians is doubtful!

Asia's Race to the Mars

During late 50s and 60s, Soviet Union and USA used to compete to earn some of the 'world's first' records in Space technology. Today the same is happening in Asia. Although Japan and China are ahead of India in space technology by few years, India has a chance this time to beat Japan and China in the race to reach Mars first.

Japan and China, both have made an attempt to reach the Red Planet, but eventually both the eastern economic giants had to face failure.

Japanese probe Nozomi ("Wish" or "Hope" in Japanese) was planned as a Mars-orbiting aeronomy probe, launched on July 4, 1998. The operation was terminated on December 31, 2003 as it was unable to achieve Mars orbit due to electrical failures. 

Chinese Yinghuo-1, was a Mars-exploration space probe launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, on 8 November 2011, along with the Russian Fobos-Grunt sample return spacecraft, which was intended to visit Mars' moon Phobos. Shortly after launch in order to depart Earth's orbit, Fobos-Grunt was expected to perform two burns. Unfortunately, these burns did not take place, which left both the probes stranded in the Earth's orbit. Chinese state media quickly reported the probe as 'lost' on 17 November 2011. Later, after two month both the probes Yinghuo-1 and Fobos-Grunt underwent a destructive re-entry on 15 January 2012, and disintegrated over the Pacific Ocean.

India's Second Moon mission

After the successful Chandrayaan - 1 mission, India is all set to send another mission to moon with a rover. The mission was proposed to be launched in 2014 but has been delayed by another two years and will be launched by 2016. This mission includes a lunar orbiter and a lunar rover made in India as well as one lander built by Russia. Prime responsibility of the mission will be on India's hand and will be launched by India's Geo Synchronous Launch Vehicle (GSLV). According to ISRO, this mission will use and test various new technologies and conduct 'new' experiments. The wheeled rover will move on the lunar surface and will pick up soil or rock samples for on-site chemical analysis. The data will be sent to Earth through the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter.

Due to recent failure of GSLV and Russia's Phobos Grunt last year, the mission has been delayed. Design and payload has been finalized, the two nations are now awaiting the completion of the Russian lander.

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(c) RIA Novosti

Written by Mamonov Roman

This week marked 4 years since Georgia invaded South Ossetia on August 8th 2008. Russia and South Ossetia held remembrance ceremonies for those killed during the armed conflict.

This week, President Vladimir Putin for the first time recounted his role in the South Ossetian operation while Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said during his visit to Tskhinval that the decisions taken in 2008 were “correct and timely”. The Voice of Russia’s Roman Mamonov reports.

On August 8th 2008 Georgian troops launched an assault on South Ossetia’s capital Tskhinval shelling residential areas, civilian institutions, and Russian peacekeepers. The assault was followed by the invasion of ground forces, including infantry divisions and tanks. Russia responded by bringing in military units in what it described as “an operation to compel Georgia to peace”. Five days later, the Georgian troops were driven out of the region and Moscow recognized the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

President Vladimir Putin, who was prime minister at the time, says that he phoned the Russian president and defense minister from Beijing on August 7th and 8th . Putin said that Russia’s military command had prepared a plan of action in case of a Georgian aggression well before the attack.

"Devised by the General Staff, the plan also envisaged training of South Ossetian volunteer corps. Even though Russian military experts believed that volunteer units were powerless against a regular army, South Ossetian volunteer divisions and the Russian peacekeepers managed to contain the onrushing enemy for three days until the arrival of the Russian army."

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev paid a “solidarity and commemoration” visit to Tskhinval on the 4th anniversary of the Georgian aggression on August 8th . Four years ago, then-President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree to begin a military operation in South Ossetia in order to rescue the republic’s residents many of which had Russian citizenship. During his visit, Medvedev held talks with South Ossetian President Leonid Tibilov. Residents of Tskhinval greeted Dmitry Medvedev with applause.

"The Russian leadership had to make a number of difficult decisions and these decisions were correct and fair because in the long run, they helped to restore peace in South Ossetia and the balance of power in the region."

Russia’s Investigative Committee has completed an inquiry into the Georgian aggression against South Ossetia. A spokesman for the Committee, Vladimir Markin, says that the size of the criminal case against Georgia exceeds 400 volumes. Members of the Committee have conducted hundreds of forensic enquiries and collected the testimony of thousands of witnesses. According to the investigation, the Georgian authorities mounted a smearing campaign against Russia. The Georgian leadership released fake photo and video reports about mass civilian casualties. Vladimir Markin of the Russian Investigative Committee, comments.

"The dead bodies of Georgian servicemen were dressed in civilian clothes and were photographed or videotaped to feign considerable victims among civilians. Witnesses also say that Ukrainian mercenaries dressed in Russian army uniforms helped to fabricate pictures of Russian servicemen looting Georgian villages and using violence against Georgian civilians."

More than 1,500 people lost their lives during the aggression, South Ossetian sources say.

67 Russian servicemen, including peacekeepers, were killed during the conflict. Nearly 700 residential buildings and a number of hospitals, schools and daycare centers were destroyed or burned. More than 16,000 people, most of them Russians, were displaced. The European Commission has pointed to Georgia as bearing the main share of responsibility for unleashing of hostilities in South Ossetia.

Mamonov Roman is the author and presenter at the Voice of Russia, Russia's first internationally broadcasted Radio. On air since 1929.

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Sharm El Sheikh, photo taken by
Svetlana Gerchkina

Flights to Sharm el Sheikh are operating normally and it retains its holiday appeal despite the soft coup in Cairo to the north. According to Al-Jazeera, the new President Mohamed Morsi pledges to bring unity to the country.

Seeking to stabilise all aspects of Egyptian tourism and culture, his recently elected tourism minister Mohamed Hisham Abbas Zaazou is held to be a thoughtful and internationally well-connected man by the International Council of Tourism Partners. The Council’s president, Geoffrey Lipman, is quoted in Travel Weekly as saying that Zaazou has a massive commitment to well-being in the sector. This is encouraging for those thinking of flying to Sharm, still in the top ten destinations for British travellers.

From diving to horse riding:

Sun, sea, sand and an abundance of resort hotels in all price ranges will attract the traveller looking for diving, snorkelling, desert scenery and Bedouin culture.

The Blue Hole in the Red Sea at Dahab is a magnet for divers, as are the coral reefs at The Ras Mohammed National Park, and the dolphins of Tiran Island. If you just fancy a swim, the water is warm and clear all year round.

For those who like to keep their feet dry, try sand boarding in the dunes near Dahab, or riding horses on the beach before heading to Na’ama Bay for the restaurants and nightlife.

See the ships of the desert under full sail

For a day at the races like no other, check out the South Sinai Camel Festival in May. Seventeen rival tribes compete, and if you want to learn more about Bedouin culture, then book a tour to a traditional village. End the evening with stargazing beneath the unpolluted skies of the desert.

Travel back in time

Book a trip to St Catherine’s Monastery where the oldest complete copy of the Bible was discovered, and walk in Moses' footsteps, as you survey Mount Sinai.

Making the dream a reality

A visa is not required if you intend to stay in Sharm-el-Sheik and the surrounding area. Mark your landing card ‘Sinai only’, but at £10 it offers freedom to visit Ras Mohammed or dive further out at sea. Log onto the Egyptian Consulate website for details. Arabic is the main language but English is widely understood. Flight prices peak in September and October but good deals can be found online all year.

The Sinai Peninsula never ceases to amaze and you will find a five hour flight is a ticket to a lifetime of memories.

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NASDAQ

The international crude oil market has been shaken up since the United States and European Union imposed embargoes on Iranian crude exports – rival oil exporting nations such as Russia, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia have seen large spikes in exports as importers look elsewhere for their supplies. 

Pressure has been on Iran since December 2011, and the European Union imposed new sanctions on 1 July that forbid European insurers from covering tankers transporting Iranian oil. The US and EU have turned up the pressure after long-standing accusations that Iran’s uranium enrichment program would be used to develop weapons came to a head.

Crude prices have been buoyed by the tensions, despite overall concerns about the strength of the world market. China is the largest importer of Iranian crude, and June saw the nation’s highest volume of Iranian crude imports in 11 months as the nation defended its purchases as "completely justified and legitimate". International trade services at HSBC announced that China’s economy has stabilised with a PMI of 50, with the expectation that China will continue to import Iranian crude.

India has ordered state-run companies to insure shipments of Iranian oil, to prevent the disruption of supplies with the sanctions.

Japan, struggling with energy after the shutdown of their nuclear industry, also insured their own shipments and saw imports of Iranian oil skyrocket 60 per cent in Mary as the nation stocked up before the 1 July deadline – although their Iranian oil exports are expected to stop from July. Japan is Iran’s third largest importer, and has turned to Oman, Russia and Indonesia in lieu of Iran.

Oman saw their oil exports rise over 700 per cent in June, Russia saw an increase of 181 per cent and Indonesia’s exports rose 41 per cent.

Turkey, meanwhile, has seen their imports of Iranian crude drop from 68 per cent of their total to 37 per cent after their importer Tupras was granted a waiver, allowing them to continue to import reduced volumes of oil from Iran.

South Africa previously imported a quarter of its oil supplies from Iran, but has completely stopped these imports since the new embargo came into effect. The African nation made up the difference by doubling the amount of crude imported from Saudi Arabia from 30 per cent to 60 per cent.

The Chicago Times reports the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying “We must stop the exports of crude oil”, and turn export focus instead on refined oil products – although the number of nations with refineries designed to only support Iranian grade crude will ensure that some exports continue in spite of sanctions.

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