Russian rocket engine makers have tested an innovative type of satellite thruster powered by krypton, a noble gas that is up to 10 times cheaper than the standard xenon, Roscosmos said Friday.
"Experimental design bureau Fakel … and Keldysh Research Center have for the first time (in Russia) tested a stationary plasma jet engine, SPT-70M, using krypton as a propellant," the state space corporation said in a statement.
Satellites use thrusters to move around once they are in orbit — to dodge space debris, change altitude and even de-orbit.
Xenon has been the working gas of choice in most electric propulsion engines, where it is converted into a plasma jet to produce thrust. The downside of using xenon is its high cost and, as Fakel CEO Gennady Abramenkov said recently, the fact that it is in short supply.
However, Fakel CEO Gennady Abramenkov, said that employing xenon in rocket manufacturing has been challenging for Fakel because of its scarcity and high cost.
Roscosmos announced in December that it was looking for an alternative gas to power satellite engines as it seeks to develop communication and Earth remote sensing constellations by 2030 as part of the Sphere (Sfera) national project.
Roscosmos had revealed back in December that it was seeking an alternative gas to power satellite engines as part of the Sphere (Sfera) national project, which aims to create communication and Earth remote sensing constellations by 2030.
Back in January, Yuri Borisov, the head of Roscosmos, said that Russia must have at least 1,000 satellites in orbit by 2023.
Russia currently has about 200 satellites in orbit and must begin producing 250 spacecraft annually in order to reach this five-fold increase by 2030.
The 1,000 satellite target should vary in function and perform communication, remote sensing, weather monitoring, and navigation tasks.
Read next: Soyuz MS-22 cooling system leak 'impossible' to repair in space.
Kebakaran Depo Pertamina Plumpang, Jakarta Utara, Jumat, 3 MAret 2023./Tangkapan Layar Video /
Warga sekitar merekam detik-detik saat Depo Pertamina Plumpang, Jakarta Utara terbakar pada jumat malam, 03/03/2023, pukul 20.11 WIB.
Dalam rekaman video, detik-detik warga histeris menyelamatkan diri akibat kebakaran Depo Pertamina Plumpang itu terekam jelas. Video kepanikan beredar di media sosial.
detik - detik depo pertamina kebakaran
Bahkan, kebakaran ini juga menjadi salah satu treding topic di Twitter. Kata Plumpang menjadi trending topic teratas.
Dari tayangan video yang beredar, tergambar bagaimana kobaran api besar disertai awan hitam tampak terlihat dalam kebakaran di Depo Pertamnia tersebut.
Ada juga tayangan video yang menggambarkan bagaimana kepanikan warga sekitar Depo Pertamina yang terbakar.
Dalam video itu api membesar hingga menyembul ke langit. Tak lama terdengar ledakan dahsyat di lokasi kebakaran yang disebut terjadi di Depo Pertamina Plumpang.
Dalam video itu, warga yang mendengar ledakan itu terdengar teriakan histeris. Pria yang merekam video itu tampak menyelamatkan diri.
"Abi ayo abi," demikian teriakan wanita dalam video itu.
"Kebakaran terjadi pukul 20.11 WIB," begitu tulis laporan Command Center DKI Jakarta dikonfirmasi Humas Gulkarmat Mulat Wijayanto.
Sebanyak 18 unit dan 90 personel pemadam kebakaran dikerahkan untuk memadamkan api.
Kilang Pertamina Plumpang Jakarta kebakaran diduga karena tersambar petir Kebakaran ini berimbas pada warga sekitar #afpic.twitter.com/F0Ufv7Db5I
Sampai saat ini belum diketahui penyebab kebakaran yang terjadi tersebut. Pun terkait ada atau tidaknya korban jiwa akibat kebakaran ini.
"Saat ini sedang dilakukan upaya penanggulangan dan evakuasi pekerja maupun warga di sekitar lokasi berkoordinasi dengan seluruh pihak terkait," kata Area Manager Communication, Relation, and CSR Pertamina Jawa Barian Barat, Eko Kristiawan, Jumat malam, 03/03/2023.
"Pertamina Patra Niaga Regional Jawa Bagian Barat berupaya maksimal dalam penanggulangan insiden yang terjadi," kata dia.
Berdasarkan keterangan Dinas Penanggulangan Kebakaran dan Penyelamatan DKI Jakarta, laporan kebakaran diterima petugas pemadam kebakaran pukul 20.11 WIB tadi. Lokasi persisnya ada di Jl Tanah Merah Bawah, RT 012 RW 09, Kelurahan Rawa Badak Selatan, Kecamatan Koja.
Pasukan Israel mengambil posisi selama bentrokan dengan warga Palestina menyusul penyerbuan di pintu masuk kamp pengungsi Aqabat Jaber dekat kota Jericho di Tepi Barat pada 1 Maret 2023. (AP)
Warga Palestina mengecam rancangan undang-undang Israel untuk mengeksekusi warga Palestina yang dinyatakan bersalah atas terorisme, yang melewati tahap pertama di Knesset Israel minggu ini.
Undang-undang, yang diusulkan oleh Menteri Keamanan Dalam Negeri dan pemimpin partai Ekstremis Kekuatan Yahudi Itamar Ben-Gvir, menyelesaikan pembacaan pendahuluannya pada hari Rabu dan diharapkan melewati tahap kedua dan ketiga untuk menjadi undang-undang.
Warga Palestina menganggapnya penuh dengan rasisme, sementara beberapa anggota dinas keamanan Israel telah memperingatkan bahwa undang-undang tersebut akan memotivasi daripada mencegah lebih banyak serangan terhadap warga Israel.
Itu telah menghadapi tentangan dari lembaga hak asasi manusia Israel dan menyerukan mahkamah agung negara itu untuk menjatuhkannya karena tidak sesuai dengan hukum internasional dan kemanusiaan.
Qadura Faris, presiden Klub Tahanan Palestina, mengatakan kepada Arab News bahwa hukuman mati khusus tidak akan berguna selain untuk mengekspos Israel sebagai "negara terbelakang, fasis, apartheid, yang hidup di masa lalu."
“Undang-undang ini hanya menargetkan warga Palestina. Ini adalah konfirmasi baru bahwa ada dua undang-undang di wilayah geografis yang sama: satu untuk Israel dan satu lagi untuk Palestina. Ini adalah rasisme,” katanya
Dia menambahkan bahwa hukuman mati “tidak akan menambah kekhawatiran kami… kami dibunuh di luar hukum setiap hari tanpa alasan... (Israel) melakukan eksekusi ekstensif terhadap warga Palestina setiap hari di luar hukum.
“Kami tahu bahwa desakan Ben-Gvir untuk mengusulkan undang-undang ini masuk dalam kerangka proses pemerasan.”
Rawhi Fattouh, kepala Dewan Nasional Palestina, setuju, dengan mengatakan: “Israel tidak membutuhkan undang-undang untuk melakukan eksekusi lapangan terhadap rakyat kami karena mereka mempraktikkannya setiap hari dan dengan dalih palsu.”
Israel saat ini menggunakan hukuman seumur hidup setara dengan 99 tahun penjara terhadap warga Palestina yang membunuh warga Israel. Ada lebih dari 550 narapidana di penjara Israel yang dijatuhi hukuman berdasarkan undang-undang ini.
Yousef Jabarin, seorang dosen dan mantan anggota parlemen Israel, mengatakan kepada Arab News bahwa undang-undang tersebut adalah hasil dari persaingan sengit antara politisi sayap kanan ekstrem Israel untuk tampil paling kejam.
Jabarin mengatakan, meski undang-undang itu disahkan, ada kemungkinan Mahkamah Agung akan menolaknya.
Mayor Jenderal Qadri Abu Bakr, kepala komisi untuk urusan tahanan dan mantan tahanan, mengatakan bahwa para aktivis Palestina tidak takut akan eksekusi dan bahwa “Israel akan membayar harga untuk menyetujui undang-undang tersebut.”
Kementerian Luar Negeri Palestina telah meminta AS untuk menangkap David Ben-Zion, wakil kepala Dewan Penyelesaian di Tepi Barat yang diduduki yang saat ini berada di AS.
Kementerian mengatakan bahwa Ben-Zion meminta pemukim Israel untuk menyerang kota Hawara pada hari-hari sebelum ratusan orang mengamuk awal pekan ini.
Dikatakan penangkapan akan jauh lebih penting daripada meminta Perdana Menteri Benjamin Netanyahu untuk meminta maaf atas komentar "menjijikkan" menterinya.
Sementara itu, serangan komprehensif terjadi di Jericho dan Lembah Yordan sebagai protes atas pembunuhan Mahmoud Hamdan, 22, yang tewas dalam serangan tentara Israel ke kamp Aqbat Jabr pada hari Selasa.
Pasukan dan pemukim Israel telah membunuh 67 warga Palestina sejak awal tahun, termasuk 13 anak-anak, dan empat lansia.
The US State Department, both directly and through third-party organizations, pressed Twitter to censor American users for their non-existent connections to Russia, China, and Hindu nationalism, according to internal documents.
Published by journalist Matt Taibbi on Thursday, the latest ‘Twitter Files’ reveal that Twitter’s former trust and safety chief, Yoel Roth, was approached in 2021 and given a list of 40,000 accounts suspected of engaging in “inauthentic behavior” in support of India’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
The list was provided by the ‘Digital Forensics Research Lab’ at the Atlantic Council, a think tank funded by the US State Department’s ‘Global Engagement Center’ (GEC), as well as a host of NATO governments and weapons manufacturers.
According to the files, Roth investigated the list and found that “virtually all appear to be real people” rather than Indian bots, while Taibbi contacted several and learned that they were “ordinary Americans” with no connection whatsoever to Indian politics.
2. On June 8, 2021, an analyst at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab wrote to Twitter:
“Hi guys. Attached you will find… around 40k twitter accounts that our researchers suspect are engaging in inauthentic behavior… and Hindu nationalism more broadly.” pic.twitter.com/0RpK3kyhHC
Created in the final year of the Obama administration, the GEC is a State Department entity that works with multiple US intelligence agencies to “counter foreign disinformation.” It is forbidden from operating within the United States, and recently had to cut its ties with a George Soros-backed NGO that was using its funding to target American conservative news sites.
While the list of supposed Hindu nationalists was given to Twitter via the Atlantic Council, the GEC directly passed other lists to the social media platform, including 500 accounts that were allegedly spreading Iranian “disinformation,” and 5,500 “Chinese accounts” engaged in “state-backed coordinated manipulation,” despite the fact that this latter list included multiple Western government accounts and at least three CNN employees.
Roth described the Chinese list as “a total crock,” while fellow employee Aaron Rodericks said it provided “more entertainment value than anything.”
The GEC and its organizations tangentially connected to the State Department – such as the infamous ‘Alliance for Securing Democracy’ that published the ‘Hamilton68’ dashboard of “Russian bots” – had long pressed Twitter to crack down on allegedly Kremlin-connected accounts, but Roth told staff that it was impossible to detect “Russian fingerprints” on any of the accounts.
Instead, accounts that retweeted “news sources linked to Russia” were considered Kremlin-sponsored. One list handed to Twitter by the GEC considered membership in France’s anti-government ‘Yellow Vests’ movement as “being Russia-aligned.”
While Twitter’s executives may have been skeptical of the GEC’s ‘blacklists’, the US media was not. Emails show that multiple news outlets and agencies – including the Associated Press – would receive reports from the organization, and then press Twitter to take action and ban the listed accounts.
Kiev's operatives, who had crossed into Russia’s Bryansk Region on Thursday, have been forced back into Ukrainian territory and hit with a “massive artillery strike,” the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has said.
Earlier, the Russian military and security services reported that saboteurs had crossed into the Bryansk Region bordering Ukraine and launched raids on several local villages. At least two civilians were killed in those attacks, which also left a child injured, the local authorities said.
“In order to avoid civilian casualties as well as damage to civilian infrastructure, the enemy was pushed back to Ukrainian territory, where they were hit with a massive artillery strike,” the FSB told the Russian media. “A raid by the Ukrainian nationalists in the Klimovsky District of the Bryansk Region has been thwarted.”
In a separate statement earlier the same day, the FSB said that a large number of explosive devices of various types had been found in the area. Bomb squads were deployed to disarm the explosives. Bryansk Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz also reported artillery and mortar strikes in the area.
Russian President Vladimir Putin branded the incident a “terrorist attack,” calling people responsible for such acts “neo-Nazis and terrorists.” He also suggested that those behind Thursday's raids might have also been behind the assassination of Russian journalist Darya Dugina, whose car was blown up near Moscow in August.
Russian regions bordering Ukraine have regularly come under attacks by Kiev’s forces since the start of the ongoing conflict. The local authorities in Bryansk and Kursk Regions have repeatedly reported shelling by the Ukrainian forces, which has sometimes resulted in civilian casualties.
Russian MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:
▪️The Russian Army eliminated up to 50 Ukrainian soldiers and two vehicles near Kupyansk. In addition, Russian artillery destroyed a Ukrainian ammunition depot in the Kharkov region;
▪️Russian troops eliminated over 160 Ukrainian servicemen, seven armored fighting vehicles, and a Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer in the Krasny Liman direction;
▪️In the Donetsk People's Republic, during an offensive by Russian troops, air strikes and artillery fire destroyed up to 270 Ukrainian personnel, six infantry fighting vehicles, three armored fighting vehicles, nine motor vehicles, a Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer, a Msta- B howitzer, and a D-30 howitzer. In addition, Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian hangar with military equipment and a communications unit in the Avdeevka area in the DPR;
▪️The Russian Army eliminated over 80 Ukrainian servicemen, a tank, two armored vehicles, two pickup trucks, a Msta-B howitzer, and a D-30 howitzer during an offensive in the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions;
▪️The Russian Armed Forces destroyed up to 80 Ukrainian servicemen, 30 vehicles, a Msta-B howitzer, and an ammunition depot in the Kherson direction;
▪️In the area of Kramatorsk in the DPR, a Ukrainian self-propelled Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile launcher was destroyed. In addition, a radar for an S-300 surface-to-air missile system was destroyed in the Dnepropetrovsk region;
🎥 Combat actions of CMD artillery crew within special military operation (the video courtesy of Russian MoD)
The reconnaissance UAVs receive the information about the target, then the crew strikes the enemy-fortified areas with 203mm high-precision artillery ordnance.
After completing the missions, the crew alters its position to avoid possible return fire.
The self-propelled artillery systems suppress positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with 203mm projectiles both day and night.
▪️The Russian Aerospace Forces shot down a Ukrainian Su-24 airplane and Mi-8 helicopter in the Donetsk direction;
▪️Russian troops shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 jet and a HIMARS MLRS missile in the Kherson region;
▪️The Russian Army eliminated a HIMARS MLRS and 14 AFU UAVs in the Kharkov region, DPR and Kherson region.
Some Western delegations turned the G20 agenda into a farce, trying to blame Moscow for their own economic failures, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.
In New Delhi, he held talks with counterparts from Brazil, India, China and Turkey and had a quick word with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the latter’s request when their paths crossed.
Due to disagreements between the Western countries, on the one hand, and Russia and China, on the other, no final statement at the ministerial meeting was adopted, but all participants agreed to make the African Union a full-fledged member of the Group of Twenty on a par with the EU.
TASS News has summarized Lavrov’s key statements during the trip.
No final declaration
It was not possible to agree on a declaration, because the representatives of Western countries, just as it happened at last year's meeting in Bali, tried to bring the Ukrainian issue to the fore: "The West has sacrificed to its ambitions in Ukrainian affairs all areas of work that should constitute the core of the G20's activities."
The Western representatives ignored confessions by European leaders that "none of them were going to comply with the Minsk agreements."
They also refused to include in the declaration Russia and China’s call for an impartial and honest investigation into the Nord Stream explosions. "We're going to push for this investigation, we will not let them brush it under the carpet," Lavrov said.
On "barriers to sanctions" and "Western farce"
"I would like to apologize to the Indian chairmanship and our colleagues from the countries of the Global South for the improper behavior of some Western delegations that turned the work on the G20 agenda into a farce in an attempt to shift the blame for their economic failures primarily to Russia."
The West is to blame for hindering Russian agricultural exports "no matter how hard the representatives of the EU, who are in the habit of telling lies, may be trying to persuade everyone to think otherwise." Also, "the West shamelessly buries" the initiative to donate Russian fertilizers to African countries.
By virtue of "neocolonial habits and ambitions" the West is out to subordinate the world economy to its interests, provoking "degradation of international economic relations and their transformation into weapons, including those in the energy sphere." "There is a need to set a barrier against illegitimate sanctions and any forms of violations of freedom of international trade."
Russia is in favor of the "elimination of the Western monopoly" in international organizations and of increasing the role of developing countries in the World Bank, the World Trade Organization and the IMF. It is keen to expand trade in national currencies and form independent payment systems within the framework of the BRICS, the EAEU and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Moscow expects that the forthcoming G20 summit in New Delhi in September will offer an opportunity "to at least partly neutralize the risks for economic stability created by the egoistic policy of the West."
Moscow expects that the forthcoming G20 summit in New Delhi in September will offer an opportunity "to at least partly neutralize the risks for economic stability created by the egoistic policy of the West."
On West’s isolation
Only "Western partners" have been talking about Russia's isolation: "We do not feel isolated at all. The way I see it, the West is isolating itself, and this awareness will dawn upon it soon. In the near future we expect to make a trip to a number of countries in Latin America," Lavrov said.
The Western countries demand that the developing countries condemn Moscow and in doing so they use a "blow-below-the-belt" tactic. When asked what they may promise in return, the answer is: "We will not punish you."
The West’s attempts to threaten China raise "doubts" whether "those who utter these threats" are in their right mind. "In principle, it is wrong to threaten anyone, but when China is threatened in the modern conditions, I cannot get my head around this."
Moscow and Beijing have "far-reaching plans" and a "busy foreign policy agenda," given their role as a "stabilizing factor in the system of international relations". (Before the meeting in New Delhi, Lavrov met personally with the newly-appointed Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang for the first time - TASS).
On negotiations with Ukraine
Russia is ready for talks on Ukraine mediated by India, which displays responsibility and takes a position "worthy of a great power" on key issues. Moscow has never rejected dialogue initiatives, "provided they are serious."
"We haven't seen any serious proposals since last March," Lavrov stressed.
Russia will continue to "press for justice for the Ukrainian people" and "defend the interests of Russians who live in Ukraine."
"And, of course, it will fully ensure the interests of those residents of the Ukrainian republics and regions who expressed their will in the referendum regarding accession to Russia."
About meetings on sidelines
Moscow has no illusions that it will be able to persuade the Western countries to change their mind in the foreseeable future: "We are not actually trying to knock on that door."
This does not mean, though, that relations have died down altogether: "They decided not to communicate with us, this is their choice, although when our paths cross in the corridors and on the sidelines of events like the one today, not everyone manages to kind of turn away and run past." (In New Delhi Lavrov had a quick word with Blinken, who, according to Reuters, called for cancelling the suspension of New START and vowed the US was ready "to support Ukraine's defense as long as it takes." - TASS note.
Earlier in the day, Bryansk region Governor Alexander Bogomaz said that a Ukrainian sabotage group had infiltrated the border with the region, killing one person and injuring another one.
Ukrainian forces committed a terror attack in Bryansk by opening fire on civilians riding in a car, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said.
"Today they committed another terrorist act, another crime, entered the border territory and opened fire on civilians. They saw that it was a civilian car, they saw that civilians and children were sitting there, no, an ordinary Niva, they opened fire on them," Putin said.
Earlier in the day, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) confirmed that a group of Ukrainian nationalists penetrated the border, and an operation to liquidate the infiltrators is underway.
Prior to that, Bryansk region governor Alexander Bogomaz stated that one person was killed by the Ukrainian attack.
"Today, an infiltration unit from Ukraine penetrated into the village of Lyubechane, Klimovsky district. The saboteurs fired at a moving vehicle. As a result of the attack, one resident was killed, and a ten-year-old child was wounded," the head of the region wrote on his Telegram channel.
The governor's office noted that there were no precise details on the number of Ukrainian troops that attacked the region. Meanwhile, Kursk Regional Governor Roman Starovoyt stated that one person was killed and two were wounded by the Kiev regime's bombardment of the settlement of Tetkino. At least five shells hit the border village, the official said, adding that three houses were damaged.
Kremlin brands Ukrainian saboteurs’ incursion in Bryansk Region 'terror attack'
The Ukrainian militants’ incursion in the Bryansk Region is a terrorist attack, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
"This is an attack by terrorists. Measures are currently underway to eliminate these terrorists," the Russian presidential spokesman said.
Replying to a question about measures that Moscow could take on the international scene in the wake of this attack, Peskov stressed: "On the international arena, [we] have drawn and continue drawing the attention of the world public to those terror attacks that these people (Ukrainian terrorists) carry out."
Ukrainian saboteurs infiltrated into the borderline district of the Bryansk Region on Thursday morning. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) confirmed that an operation was underway to eliminate the border infiltrators. According to official data, one civilian was killed and another one was wounded in the Ukrainian saboteurs’ attack.
