NASA launches its Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite

US space agency NASA launched an Earth-observing satellite - the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite - from Vandenberg Air Force Base on California's central coast, shortly before sunrise on Saturday. The satellite was lifted off in the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket.
The rocket was initially scheduled to fly earlier this week, but the launch was postponed due to high winds and technical issues.

The SMAP satellite launched by NASA is on a three-year mission, during which it will transmit data that will help forecast climate, track drought, and monitor climate change. The data transmitted by the satellite will chiefly help the world prepare better to deal with floods and droughts.


Since the SMAP satellite will essentially track the amount of water locked in soil, it is equipped with instruments which will measure moisture in the soil every several days for producing high-resolution global maps. The instruments will be checked by engineers for two weeks when the satellite reaches the desired orbit 430 miles high.


With NASA describing the glitch-free launch of the SMAP satellite as a "terrific ride into space," Geoffery Yoder - NASA's deputy associate administrator for programs - said that the data transmitted by the satellite will "benefit not only scientists seeking a better understanding of our planet, climate and environment . it's a boon for emergency planners and policy makers."

Grav wave tsunami NOT caused by Big Bang – boffins

Claims that a gravitational wave tsunami swept the universe from the Big Bang have turned to dust.
Late last year, the smart money was already backing the idea that the signal didn't come from the early universe and, on Friday, scientists agreed that the "gravitational waves remain elusive."

No conclusive evidence could be found to support what many had hoped was a breakthrough discovery in March 2014, after a team of astrophysicists reported a sighting of gravitational waves – formed in the first trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth of a second after the universe as we know it blinked into existence about 13.8 billion years ago.

The European Space Agency brought that claim back down to Earth yesterday, however.
It said that a joint analysis of data from ESA's Planck satellite and the gorund-based BICEP2 and Keck Array experiments showed that the origin of the signal had not be detected after all.

This pic shows dust emission from the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.
Image credit: ESA/Planck Collaboration

“Searching for this unique record of the very early Universe is as difficult as it is exciting, since this subtle signal is hidden in the polarisation of the CMB [Cosmic Microwave Background – the legacy of light emitted only 380,000 years after the Big Bang], which itself only represents only a feeble few per cent of the total light,” said Jan Tauber, ESA project science for Planck.


The ESA added that while boffins had presented evidence that suggested the siginal originated in primordial gravitational waves, interstellar dust in our Milky Way Galaxy could conjure up a similar effect. ®

Orange extends post-paid plan to all mobile subscribers

In May last year, Orange launched Biashara Talk, a post-paid service targeted at Small office Home office  (SoHo)customers and small businesses. Biashara Talk monthly bundles ranged from KES 1,000, to KES 10,000, all with 30-day validity periods.

In response to what the firm calls a stronger market demand, Orange has today extended the post-paid plan to all its Orange Mobile subscribers. Dubbed Orange Ongea, subscribers will choose the KSh1,000 or KSh3,000 monthly options to access Orange Mobile voice and data services.
“Our offering is one of the best in the market, taking into consideration our very competitive on-net and off-net call and SMS rates,” company CEO Vincent Lobry said.

The Orange Ongea Plan 1,000 will require a subscriber to place a deposit of KSh2,000 upon registration, while the Orange Ongea Plan 3,000 will see the subscriber place a KSh6,000 deposit. On-net and off-net calls will be charged at KSh2 and KSh3 respectively, while on-net and off-net SMS will be charged at KSh0.5 and KSh1 respectively. Data per MB will cost KSh 3 on the 1,000 Plan and KSh2 on the 3,000 Plan. Calls and SMS to international destinations are also included in the bundle.  A customer will automatically be converted to the pre-paid offer once they exhaust their bundle and will be required to top-up to continue enjoying Orange Services.

“Orange continues to better its product and service offering to its customers as we continue with our customer acquisition and retention strategy,” says Lobry.

This move is aimed at helping Orange retain its customers, acquire more and even grow its market share asthe local telco market gets competitive with Equitel. Safaricom which had plans to discontinue its post-paid bundles recently made a u-turn to maintain the loss-making option to match its competitors offerings

According to the recent Communications Authority of Kenya’s Quarterly Sector Statistics Report, Orange’s growth strategy on market share is indeed working, making it one of the two telcos to record continuous growth. During the three-month period under review, Orange grew its market share to 9.2%, up from 8.3% recorded in the previous quarter.


“We remain committed to strengthening our business and these statistics confirm that we are moving in the right direction and most importantly that our strategic approach is indeed working,” adds Lobry.