A SpaceX rocket blasted off on Tuesday carrying a UAE-Bahraini miniature satellite to the International Space Station.
CRS-24 lifted off at 2.07pm UAE time from Florida's Kennedy Space Centre.
The Dragon spacecraft separated from the Falcon 9 rocket at 2.22pm and will reach the space station at 1.30pm on Wednesday.
It is delivering more than 2,900 kilograms of supplies, experiments and holiday treats to the astronauts.
The UAE-Bahraini CubeSat, called Light-1, will monitor and study terrestrial gamma-ray flashes from thunderstorms and cumulus clouds – fluffy clouds with flat bases.
It will spend a few weeks on the ISS, before being deployed into orbit in January to begin operations.
Students at New York University Abu Dhabi and Khalifa University built the nanosat. The team included nine Bahrainis and 14 Emiratis.
The nanosat is a joint project by the UAE Space Agency and Bahrain’s National Space Science Agency.
Light-1 has been named after King Hamad's first book called The First Light, which recounts Bahrain’s history. It is a 3-unit CubeSat, the most advanced of its kind.
Sarah Al Amiri, UAE Minister of State for Advanced Sciences and chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency, congratulated the teams that worked on the nanosat.
"Light-1 is a milestone for Emirati-Bahraini ties and a new chapter for our nation’s history in space. It reflects our efforts to exchange knowledge and expertise to stimulate cutting-edge research, scientific discoveries and human progress," she said.
"I would also like to thank Khalifa University and the NYU Abu Dhabi for providing their world-class facilities to train team who worked on this landmark scientific endeavour.
"Capacity-building is a vital part of our efforts to stimulate our knowledge-driven economy and both universities have played a key role in empowering the next generation of talent.”
What will it study?
Light-1 will measure charged particles above thunderstorms that release harmful levels of radiation and can endanger aircraft passengers.
The particles – known as terrestrial gamma-ray flashes – can expose air passengers to the equivalent of 400 chest X-rays in one flash.
The flashes can also play havoc with a plane's electronics, putting passengers and crew at risk.
A special crystal detector on the nanosat will help measure the flashes and their potency.
"These are really powerful events," said Ahlam Al Qasim, a physics graduate from NYUAD.
“To give you an idea of how powerful they are – a lightning strike ... produces voltages of about 500 kilovolts, which is strong enough to kill a person if it strikes them.
“TGFs can reach energy of up to 100 mega electron volts – implying they give off more than 100 megavolts. That’s very high energy.”
The phenomenon was accidentally discovered by space scientists at US space agency Nasa in 1992 when carrying out studies about cosmic gamma-ray flashes, which occur outside Earth's atmosphere.
TGFs are created above thunderclouds, last only a few milliseconds and escape into the atmosphere.
"Aircraft fly on top of clouds all the time and if they were to fly within the vicinity of where one TGF would be emitted, it's actually very dangerous for people on board and also for the [aircraft] electronics," Ms Al Qasim said.
“So we need to understand these things better to help us really avoid the danger that might come with it.”
Francesco Arneodo, a physics professor at the New York University Abu Dhabi Centre for Astro, Particle and Planetary Physics, said that the mission would help create an improved model of how these gamma-ray bursts are generated.
Some of the main questions the nanosat would aim to answer is how are they generated, how often and how long do they last.
“In the last 20 years, there have been satellite missions that were designed to study bursts of gamma rays that are generated in galaxies, but there have been only a few missions that study bursts coming from Earth,” he said.
“The exact mechanism of generation is not very well understood. There are a few models that explain it, but none that pinpoint the exact cause.”
The two kinds of crystals - cerium bromide and lanthanum bromo chlorine – would emit light whenever a charged particle would cross them.
Prof Arneodo said that the lifespan of the mission could last up to six months.
Data from the nanosat would be transmitted whenever it is above one of the two ground stations in Abu Dhabi or Lithuania.
Prof Arneodo hopes to combine the data with other ongoing missions that are studying the bursts, including from the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor mission that was launched in 2018 and is still active.
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km
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THE DRAFT
The final phase of player recruitment for the T10 League has taken place, with UAE and Indian players being drafted to each of the eight teams.
Bengal Tigers
UAE players: Chirag Suri, Mohammed Usman
Indian: Zaheer Khan
Karachians
UAE players: Ahmed Raza, Ghulam Shabber
Indian: Pravin Tambe
Kerala Kings
UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Abdul Shakoor
Indian: RS Sodhi
Maratha Arabians
UAE players: Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat
Indian: S Badrinath
Northern Warriors
UAE players: Imran Haider, Rahul Bhatia
Indian: Amitoze Singh
Pakhtoons
UAE players: Hafiz Kaleem, Sheer Walli
Indian: RP Singh
Punjabi Legends
UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Sandy Singh
Indian: Praveen Kumar
Rajputs
UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed
Indian: Munaf Patel
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TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
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Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
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FA Cup semi-finals
Saturday: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur, 8.15pm (UAE)
Sunday: Chelsea v Southampton, 6pm (UAE)
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
