Tag: launch

  • ETV News Himachal/Haryana to launch on 26 March

    ETV News Himachal/Haryana to launch on 26 March

    MUMBAI: Ramoji Rao founded ETV group that is now under Network18 has got one more launch up its sleeve targeting the northern states of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. Come 26 March, the group will launch its regional Hindi news channel, ETV News Himachal Pradesh/Haryana.

     

    Targeted at the age group 15+ SEC ABC, the channel will help the ETV group expand into markets beyond Delhi. To tap into viewership, the launch has been timed ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, just like the recently launched Bangla and Kannada ETV news channels. The 24X7 channel will cover 80 per cent news from the two states and the remaining 20 per cent from the rest of the nation. The news stories will encompass politics, sports, culture and crime.

     

    With 10 reporters, 20 stringers and 10 desk editors currently on-board, ETV News Himachal Pradesh/Haryana will broadcast from its Hyderabad studio for now offering only studio based shows and later move to Chandigarh after the polls with a corresponding bureau in Simla to provide full fledged news bulletins and live coverage. There will be bureaus located in Dharamshala, Rohtak and Kurukshetra as well. Balwant Takshak has been appointed as the editor and Narendra Bhaskar as the marketing head for the channel.

     

    “Haryana is a big market. Real estate and other industries are growing day-by-day. In Himachal Pradesh, information about a lot of government schemes does not reach the common people. This channel can be a bridge between the government and the common people. Revenue can also be generated through this mechanism,” says ETV group editor Rajesh Raina. According to sources in the know, the channel has made an investment of nearly Rs 15 crore and is looking to break even in two years’ time.

     

    No advertiser is aboard yet and the marketing campaign will follow only after the channel is launched. Meanwhile, ETV News Himachal Pradesh/Haryana is in for competition from India News Haryana, Focus Haryana, Khabarfast 24X7, Janta TV and Total TV.

  • SpaceX successfully launches Thaicom 6 satellite to GTO

    SpaceX successfully launches Thaicom 6 satellite to GTO

    FLORIDA: Today, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) successfully launched the THAICOM 6 satellite for leading Asian satellite operator THAICOM.  Falcon 9 delivered THAICOM 6 to its targeted 295 x 90,000 km geosynchronous transfer orbit at 22.5 degrees inclination.  The Falcon 9 launch vehicle performed as expected, meeting 100% of mission objectives.

     

    Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at 5:06 PM Eastern Time.  Approximately 184 seconds into flight, Falcon 9’s second stage’s single Merlin vacuum engine ignited to begin a five minute, 35 second burn that delivered the THAICOM 6 satellite into its parking orbit. Eighteen minutes after injection into the parking orbit, the second stage engine relit for just over one minute to carry the THAICOM 6 satellite to its final geostationary transfer orbit.  The restart of the Falcon 9 second stage is a requirement for all geostationary transfer missions.

     

    “Today’s successful launch of the THAICOM 6 satellite marks the eighth successful flight in a row for Falcon 9,” said Gwynne Shotwell, President of SpaceX. “SpaceX greatly appreciates THAICOM’s support throughout this campaign and we look forward to a busy launch schedule in 2014.”   

     

    The THAICOM 6 mission marks Falcon 9’s second flight to a geosynchronous transfer orbit and begins a regular cadence of launches planned for SpaceX in 2014. SpaceX has nearly 50 launches on manifest, of which over 60% are for commercial customers. 

     

    This launch also marks the third of three qualification flights needed to certify the Falcon 9 to fly missions under the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. Once Falcon 9 is certified, SpaceX will be eligible to compete to launch national security satellites for the U.S. Air Force.

     

  • ISRO’s GSLV D5  successfully launches GSAT-14

    ISRO’s GSLV D5 successfully launches GSAT-14

    MUMBAI: The first time it was about to launch in august 2013 a technical snag forced an abortion. But now Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) twenty third communication satellite GSAT-14 has been successfully launched on 5 January 2014 from launch vehicle Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV-D5 that is using an indigenous cryogenic engine for the first time. The launcher propelled the satellite into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) after which it used its own propulsion system to settle itself at 74 degrees east longitude orbit.

    The mission was an important one for ISRO since India has been developing cryogenic engines or two decades but till now had been dependent on Russian ones. This launch puts India at a prominent position in space science at par with countries like the US and Russia. Previous attempts at launches using a cryogenic engine have ended up in a mess. The launch that was telecast live on DD National saw the rocket being propelled up into space with each stage crossing at its intended time. 

    ”Team ISRO has done it. The cryogenic engine has performed as predicted and injected GSAT- 14 in the intended orbit. This is an important day for science and technology and space technology in the country. 20 years of our effort in realising an indigenous crygoenic engine has now fructified. We have put in excruciating efforts of three and a half years after test flight of cryogenic stage in 2010,” said an ecatatic ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan as the whole team rejoiced  when the the cryogenic stage was initiated and completed and years of ISRO’s hard work paid off. The launch cost approximately Rs 370 crore.

    The previous attempt to blast off GSLV into space was aborted following a fuel leak in its engine that developed hours before launch. ISRO worked on it and gave it a better metal covering following which it decided to give it another shot. A three stage rocket- the first stage runs on solid fuel, second on liquid fuel and third on the cryogenic engine – the GSLV-D5 carried the 1982 kgs GSAT-14 to replace GSAT-3 that wa decomissioned in 2010.

    The new satellite’s structure is based on ISRO’s two ton weighing (I-2k satellite bus). The satellite has six Ku band transponders (51.5 dBW EOC-EIRP), six C band transponders (36 dBW EOC-EIRP) and 2 Ka band transponders and will be co-located with INSAT-3C, INSAT-4CR and KALPANA-1.

    A 29 hour countdown began at 11: 16 am on 4 January and the launch was at 4: 18 pm on 5 January from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The 17 minutes and 8 second flight launch is the first of 2014 after the postponement of Space X’s launch of Thaicom-6 from 3 January to between 6 to 9 January. The Elon Musk backed company decided to go in for a later liftoff as problems had emerged with Falcon-9 rocket’s fairing.

    This mission is likely to have a beneficial spinoff. It could lead to orders to build more rockets that can carry payloads of up to 5 tonne to Lower Earth Orbit. Till now ISRO has been using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) that carries loads of around a tonne.

  • MipTV: ITVS to launch two factual series

    MUMBAI: ITVS Global Entertainment (ITVS GE) will debut two new factual series from The Garden at next month‘s television trade event MipTV as part of their distribution agreement with the UK-based Indie.

    ‘Keeping Britain Alive‘ and ‘Baby Makers‘ will launch at the market as both finished shows and format.

    Keeping Britain Alive is a medical ob doc that tells the story of 24 Hours in the life of the world‘s biggest free health care system – the NHS. Using over a hundred camera crews to shoot across Britain in hospitals, doctor‘s surgeries, ambulances and helicopters – all captured at and connected by, a specific moment in time. With nothing off limits, it takes a fresh look at everything from life or death emergencies, to controversial topics like plastic surgery and weight loss.

    ITVS GE will launch this ob doc as a format titled ‘Keeping Your Nation Alive‘ at MipTV. ‘Keeping Britain Alive‘ is produced by The Garden for BBC TWO.

    ‘Baby Makers: The Fertility Clinic‘ is a look at the fertility frontline. With exclusive access to The Hewitt Centre – one of the largest IVF clinics in Britain, the patients are met. Through candid accounts from staff that deal with the endless sperm and egg collections, to patients facing low sperm counts and ticking biological clocks, this documentary reveals the moral minefield of IVF.Baby Makers: The Fertility Clinic is produced by The Garden for BBC FOUR.

    ITV Studios Global Entertainment director of global acquisitions and co-productions Ruth Clarke said, “Hot on the heels of The Audience, we are delighted to be unveiling two new shows from The Garden at MIPTV. Known for their ground-breaking and thought-provoking series, we look forward to continuing our partnership with them to represent both of these new factual offerings at the international marketplace.”

  • Zoom to launch a fashion reality show on 8 March

    MUMBAI: Zoom is launching a reality show titled ‘Fashion Drill – Model of Honour‘ on 8 March.

    The show will air every Friday and Saturday at 8:30 pm.

    Presented by Pepe Jeans London and powered by Yamaha, renowned stalwarts in the industry like Alison Kanuga, Subi Samuel and Nethra Raghuraman will guide the contestants on the passion, dedication and technique needed to make it “big” in the industry.

    With Samuel, Raghuraman and Kanuga, the twelve contestants will be mentored and tested through a series of rigorous regime be it the photo-shoots, ramp-walk, ad film shoots, print ad shoots and everything else possible to bring out the best in them.

    The episodes promise to give viewers their fill of glamour with surprise visits from celebrity judges that range from well-established models and designers.

    Only one male and one female contestant will stand a chance to win modelling contracts worth Rs 500,000 each with Toabh, a wardrobe from Pepe Jeans London and bikes from Yamaha. These models will also be a part of the special feature in Elle magazine.

    ET Now, Times Now and Zoom CEO Avinash Kaul said, “Zoom is seen by the youth as the go-to destination for current fashion trends and glamour updates. The Zoom Fashion Drill – Model of Honour is by far one of the biggest platforms that takes aspirants a step closer to understanding the world of fashion. Having roped in industry stalwarts and celebrities for this show we aim to give our audiences an exciting show with interesting insights on what it takes to make it big in the industry.”