Iran Successfully Test-fires 300 km-range Missile
Iranian defense minister announced Saturday that Iran has “successfully” test-fired a 300 km-range missile, the state IRIB TV website reported.
The missile is the fourth generation of Fateh 110 missiles which is capable of hitting the targets in the sea and on the land, Brigardier General Ahmad Vahidi was quoted as saying.
High-accuracy and the capability of hitting the spots is some of the advantages of this missile, Vahidi said, adding that the missile is also able to target the radar systems, commandment bases and arsenal depots.
Promoting the missile capability of the Islamic republic is in the agenda of Iran’s defense ministry, he was quoted as saying.
The construction of the missile aims at enhancing the deterrent power of the country and will be used against those who have intention to attack the country, said the Iranian minister without referring to the time and place of testing the missile.
Iran has achieved “good success” in the construction of long- range missiles as well, he maintained.
In July, the Iranian Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) staged a three-day missile drill.
The IRGC’s aerospace division commander, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, said that, in the drill dubbed “Great Prophet 7,” more than 100 hypothesized spots in the central desert region of the country were targeted by various kinds of missiles.
Hajizadeh said that Iran’s missiles could hit the U.S. military bases in the regional countries.
He said that all the U.S. bases in the region were within the reach of Iran’s missiles and Iranian missiles could also easily reach Israel.
Iranian commanders have warned that Iran would give firm response to any military attack against the country.
Human and Material Losses Due to Flooding in Democratic Korea
North Korea reported large losses of lives and properties due to the floods that hit the country since last June, caused by a typhoon and torrential rains.
The death toll rose to 169 due to these disasters until last Tuesday, there are also 400 missing and 144 injured people, according to data released by the KCNA news agency.
Also more than 8 600 homes were destroyed or partially destroyed and 43 700 were flooded in the provinces of North and South Phyongan, Hamgyong and Jagang, among other regions.
In the list of damages are included 65 280 hectares of farmland and more than 1 400 educational, medical and industrial facilities collapsed or flooded.
NASA’s Curiosity Rover to Land on Mars
NASA says the rover it sent to Mars looks to be in excellent shape for its upcoming landing. The vehicle, known as Curiosity, was launched from Earth in November last year and is now nearing the end of a 570-million-km journey across space. NASA is holding a media briefing on the landing of the Curiosity Mars rover.
NASA mission controllers referred to the landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars as ” seven minutes of terror.” This seven minute landing sequence will begin at 05:31 Greenwich Mean Time, August 6.
Engineers gathered here at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. They told reporters on Thursday that they were close to a bulls-eye.
Curiosity is also known as the Mars Science laboratory (MSL). It is the biggest, most sophisticated Mars rover yet. It will study the rocks inside the Gale Crater, one of the deepest holes on Mars, for signs that the planet may once have supported microbial life.
It will be a totally automated landing. The vast distance between Mars and Earth means there is a 13-minute lag in communications, making real-time intervention impossible.
NASA has had to abandon the bouncing airbag approach to making soft landings. To reach its intended touch-down zone in a deep equatorial crater, the machine must enter the atmosphere at a very precise point on the sky.
This technique was used on the three previous rovers – Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity.
But at nearly a ton, Curiosity is simply too heavy to be supported by inflated cushions.
Instead, the mission team has devised a rocket-powered, hovering crane to lower the rover to the surface in the final moments of its descent.
The team is also keeping a sharp eye on the Martian weather and any atmospheric conditions that might interfere with the descent manoeuvres.
The mission is to determine whether Mars has ever had the conditions to support life
It is the equivalent of August also on Mars right now, meaning the Gale Crater at its position just inside the southern hemisphere is coming out of winter and moving towards spring.
It is the time of year when winds can kick up huge clouds of dust, and a big storm was spotted this week about 1,000 km from the landing site. But NASA expects this storm to dissipate long before landing day.
Via PL