Melayu yang perlu berubah....
Malaysia oh tanahairku...
7.3.2008
Dari pohon getah ke angkasa lepas
Artikel ini adalah tulisanku bagi ruangan Nota dari Sheffield di Utusan Malaysia. Ia bertujuan bagi mengubah minda masyarakat terhadap UPM. Masyarakat kampung pernah menganggap sijil UPM hanya layak untuk ditampal di pohon getah.
KEPUTUSAN kajian Sistem Penarafan Institusi Pengajian Tinggi Awam (Setara) yang meletakkan Universiti Malaya (UM) dan Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) sebagai universiti cemerlang adalah satu keputusan yang sudah diduga. Dengan keputusan ini, ia telah meletakkan UPM sebagai antara sebuah universiti terunggul di negara kita.
UPM telah menyambut perayaan ulang tahun yang ke-75 (Jubli Intan) pada 2006 yang lalu. Sejarah UPM bermula dengan penubuhan Sekolah Pertanian di Serdang pada 21 Mei 1931 yang memberi tumpuan dan penekanan kepada bidang pertanian di Tanah Melayu. Sekolah Pertanian tersebut kemudiannya dinaik taraf menjadi kolej Pertanian Malaya pada 23 Jun 1947.
Selaras dengan kepentingan sektor pertanian kepada ekonomi negara pada awal kemerdekaan, peranan Kolej ini adalah amat penting yang akhirnya membawa kepada kepada penubuhan Universiti Pertanian pada 29 Oktober 1971.
Penubuhan UPM diasaskan oleh gabungan Kolej Pertanian Malaya, dengan Fakulti Pertanian, Universiti Malaya. Bermula 23 Julai 1973, UPM telah memulakan sesi akademiknya dengan pengambilan seramai 1,559 pelajar.
Pelajar-pelajar tersebut memulakan pengajian di tiga fakulti pengasas iaitu Fakulti Kedoktoran Veterinar dan Sains Penternakan, Fakulti Perhutanan dan Fakulti Pertanian.
Sepanjang tahun 80-an dan 90-an UPM telah bersifat dinamik yang akhirnya membawa kepada perubahan nama menjadi Universiti Putra Malaysia pada 3 April 1997.
Nama baru ini menggambarkan UPM menawarkan pelbagai bidang termasuklah sains dan teknologi di samping program berkaitan pertanian, perhutanan dan veterinar. Malah sehingga hari ini UPM masih terus memperkukuhkan bidang pertanian, termasuklah disiplin yang berkaitan dengannya selaras dengan dasar negara dan keperluan masyarakat.
Pada hari ini UPM telah mempunyai 16 fakulti termasuk Fakulti Kejuruteraan dan Perubatan di samping sembilan pusat penyelidikan. UPM juga telah menjadi destinasi bagi 25 ribu orang pelajar termasuk hampir 7 ribu pelajar lepasan ijazah.
Terkini, UPM mempunyai seramai 1,351 orang pensyarah dan 944 dari mereka berkelulusan PhD. Jumlah ini telah melebihi sasaran Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi agar setiap IPTA mempunyai bilangan pensyarah berkelulusan Ph.D sebanyak 60 peratus menjelang tahun 2020.
Di samping pengajaran, sebagai sebuah universiti penyelidikan, UPM boleh dianggap terkedepan dalam bidang penyelidikan jika dibandingkan dengan universiti lain di Malaysia. Ini dapat dibuktikan apabila UPM dianugerahkan '2007 Technology Business Review ASEAN Award' bagi anugerah Kecemerlangan di Sektor Pendidikan di antara Universiti-Universiti Penyelidikan.
Bidang penyelidikan yang menjadi tumpuan di UPM bukan sahaja dari sektor pertanian bahkan juga kepada bidang yang berkaitan dengan angkasa lepas.
Dalam Rancangan Malaysia Kelapan (RMK-8), UPM muncul sebagai institusi penerima geran penyelidikan terbesar dan pada masa ini UPM telah diperuntukkan sebanyak RM76 juta dari pelbagai sumber bagi tujuan penyelidikan.
Kewibawaan UPM dalam bidang pertanian adalah suatu yang tidak boleh disangkal. Sumbangannya dalam memajukan sektor pertanian serta melahirkan golongan petani moden sejak lebih tiga dekad lalu adalah satu sumbangan yang amat besar bagi negara.
Dalam tahun 2005, negara telah menghasilkan Polisi Biotek Negara dan menamakan UPM sebagai Pusat Kecemerlangan bagi Agro-Teknologi.
Bahkan banyak produk makanan dan ubat-ubatan yang berasaskan pertanian serta perikanan telah dihasilkan oleh para penyelidik dari UPM.
Banyak produk yang dihasilkan di UPM telah mendapat pengiktirafan antarabangsa termasuklah produk yang berkaitan dengan kejuruteraan.
Sejak kebelakangan ini, UPM telah dibanjiri oleh para pelajar lepasan ijazah yang datang dari lebih dari 50 negara. Namun majoriti dari mereka datang dari negara Islam yang lain terutamanya dari Asia Barat seperti Iran, Libya dan juga Iraq.
Fenomena ini berlaku selaras dengan hasrat kerajaan yang ingin menjadikan Malaysia sebagai satu destinasi unggul dalam bidang pendidikan sama ada bagi ijazah atau lepasan ijazah
Di persada antarabangsa, UPM telah menjalinkan kerjasama dengan banyak universiti terkemuka di Barat.
Bahkan terdapat juga pensyarah UPM yang terlibat secara langsung dengan projek Kesatuan Eropah (EU project). Projek sebegini secara langsung memberi peluang rakyat Malaysia menyumbang kepada perkembangan teknologi dunia dimasa hadapan.
Justeru ini telah meletakkan mereka sebaris dengan saintis barat dalam pengembangan ilmu.
Baru-baru ini, Program Angkasawan Negara telah memilih uji kaji pengkristalan protein bagi dilaksanakan oleh angkasawan Malaysia di International Space Station.
Uji kaji ini adalah dihasilkan oleh kumpulan penyelidikan Enzim dan Microbial dari UPM. Hasil penyelidikan ini nanti akan digunakan bagi memahami cara merawat beberapa jenis penyakit yang berkaitan dengan kestabilan protein dalam badan.
7.1.2008
Roket oleh Salford University
Hari ini Salford University di UK mempamerkan roket NOVA 2 yang akan dibina bagi membawa pelawat keangkasa lepas menjelang 2013.
StarChaser Builts Nova 2 Rocket For Space Tourists
2013 should be a very exciting day for Britain and for space tourists world wide as another entrepreneur, Steve Bennett joined the race. He has built the Nova 2 (I wonder what happened to Nova 1), a three seater capsule that is expected to take tourists 60 miles up in space. Lifting you up at a £98,000 per person is slightly cheaper compared to Virgin Galactic’s £107,000 price tag.Steve, who is also the head of the Space Technology Laboratory at Salford University, Manchester, hopes to test the 58 foot rocket some time in September 2009. His company Starchaser Industries is setting up a space port site in New Mexico.
Aku kembali ke Sheffield pada hari ini untuk selama 2 minggu bagi menghadiri mesyuarat projek Kesatuan Eropah yang aku terlibat pada 8 dan 9 Julai di Rolls Royce Derby.
Perjalananku dibiayai sepenuhnya oleh Sheffield dan dan dikategorikan sebagai tugas rasmi oleh UPM. Apa yang menarik yang ingin aku sampaikan adalah, aku terserempak dengan anak salah seorang mantan perdana menteri Malaysia yang pernah bergelar jutawan, travel bersamaku di kelas ekonomi pesawat Emirates dari Kuala Lumpur ke Dubai.
6.26.2008
Airbus A400M dipamerkan kepada umum
Pada hari ini, bertempat di Seville, Spain, Airbus telah menunjukkan pesawat pengangkut tenteranya yang dipanggil Airbus A400M. Penerbangan pertama akan dilakukan dalam masa terdekat. Sebuah syarikat di Malaysia iaitu CTRM terlibat secara langsung dan menjadi risk partner dalam pembinaan pesawat ini. TUDM telah menempah 4 buah pesawat ini dan dijangka akan menerimanya menjelang 2013. Sila perhatikan bendera Malaysia pada badan pesawat ini dalam video dibawah.
Pesawat ini juga boleh dikategorikan sebagai pesawat plastik kerana kebanyakkan komponennya diperbuat dari carbon fibre. Video ini menunjukkan bagaimana carbon fibre dihasilkan.
By Dave Harvey
BBC Points West Business Correspondent
It has been 26 years in the making. Arguments have raged between Europe's capitals over its design, its cost and where it should be built.
But later, in Seville, the King of Spain will unveil the Airbus A400M, built for air forces across Europe including the RAF.
A grand ceremony has been promised. Journalists, politicians and VIPs are flying in from Germany, France, Italy, and the UK.
A 50-seater plane has been chartered from Airbus UK's headquarters at Filton, outside Bristol.
But the plane will not fly on Thursday. It will not even fire its engines.
Carbon fibre wings
This is a "roll out", where the world sees the completed aircraft for the first time.
The maiden flight will occur later in the summer, but no date has yet been specified.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
Airbus A400M shown to public
So why is there such a fuss about a plane that cannot even take off yet? The answer lies mainly in its wings.
It's a bit like Mrs Jones' Christmas cake....you can't be sure each one will be identical
Professor Philip Lawrence
They are made mostly of hi-tech carbon fibre and are manufactured in the UK.
There are metal elements, but there is more carbon fibre in this plane than anything Airbus has yet made.
Dave Phipps is head of Airbus' carbon fibre research department at Filton.
"Making wings out of carbon fibre cuts the fuel consumption by at least 20%," he said.
"It's a revolutionary technology. It is so much lighter, and yet just as strong and just as safe."
'Tested to destruction'
The A400M will replace the ageing fleet of C-130 Hercules that see action daily in Afghanistan and Iraq.
After two decades of political posturing and technical problems, Airbus have to get this plane right. And much will be made of its carbon fibre wings.
Professor Philip Lawrence, aviation expert at the University of the West of England, said: "Just because you're good at making planes out of metal there's no guarantee you will lead the world in carbon fibre."
Prof Lawrence has watched the development of carbon fibre aeronautics with interest.
"Everything is different," he says.
"Dealing with lightning strikes is much harder. Every time you cut a hole to fit electronics the structure of the wing is affected and joins between metal and carbon fibre can be tricky."
Boeing have already experienced problems with carbon fibre aircraft manufacture.
Every sheet must be "cooked" in a massive oven, and heat does not work exactly the same every time.
"It's a bit like Mrs Jones' Christmas cake," said Prof Lawrence. "You can't be sure each one will be identical."
But at the Airbus labs at Filton they are utterly confident.
A sample wing has been tested to destruction and is said to have passed with flying colours.
"We wouldn't put this material in the air unless we were sure of it," insisted Mr Phipps.
Journalists and VIPs flying to Spain from Filton will be using the same airfield that launched the Brabazon, the Brittania and the Concorde.
At Filton the 6,500 workers are fiercely proud of their flying heritage and what they've achieved.
But Airbus is flying into a new world, a carbon fibre world.
Its future could rest on whether the plane unveiled later in Seville flies smoothly off the production line.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/bristol/7473838.stm
6.19.2008
Minyak oh minyak...
Sedikit cerita berkenaan dengan minyak yang saya petik dari blog rakan saya. Sumber asal tidak diketahui kerana beliau sediri pun terima dari orang lain. Selamat membaca.
QUALITY OF CRUDE & REFINED PRODUCTS
Malaysia produces about 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day (and about 100,000 barrels condensate). Of this crude volume, 339,000 barrels are refined locally for local consumption. The rest is exported (and yes, because it has lower sulphur content it fetches higher prices).
Malaysia also imports about 230,000 barrels of crude oil per day, mainly from the Middle East, to be refined here. This crude oil contains higher sulphur and is less expensive (so the country gains more by exporting our crudes). In Malaysia, this crude is processed by PETRONAS at its
second refinery in Melaka, and also by Shell at its Port Dickson refinery.
Different refineries are built and configurated to refine different types of crude. And each crude type yields different percentage of products (diesel, gasoline, kerosene, cooking gas etc) per barrel.
But most importantly, products that come out at the end of the refining process have the same good quality regardless of the crude types. That’s why PETRONAS, Shell and Exxon Mobil share the same pipeline to transport the finished products from their refineries to a distribution centre in the Klang Valley. The three companies collect the products at this centre accordingly to be distributed to their respective distribution networks. What makes PETRONAS’ petrol different from Shell’s, for example, is the additive that each company adds.
PETRONAS’ ROLE, FUNCTION & CONTRIBUTION
3) A lot of people also do not understand the role and function of PETRONAS, which is essentially a company, a business entity, which operates on a commercial manner, to mainly generate income and value for its shareholder. In this case, PETRONAS’ shareholder is the Government.
In 1974, when PETRONAS was set up, the Government gave PETRONAS RM10 million (peanuts, right?) as seed capital. From 1974 to 2007, PETRONAS made RM570 billion in accumulated profits, and returned to the Government a total of RM335.7 billion. That is about 65% of the profits. That means for every RM1 that PETRONAS makes, 65 sen goes back to the Government.
Last year, PETRONAS made a pre-tax profit of RM86.8 billion. The amount given back to the Government (in royalty, dividends, corporate income tax, petroleum products income tax and export duty) was RM52.3 billion. The rest of the profit was used to pay off minority interests and taxes in foreign countries (about RM7.8 billion - PETRONAS now operates in more than 30 countries), and the remaining RM26.7 billion was reinvested. The amount reinvested seems a lot, but the oil and gas industry is technology- and capital-intensive. Costs have gone up exponentially in the last couple of years. Previously, to drill a well, it cost about US$3 million; now it costs US$7 million. The use of rigs was US$200,000 a day a couple of years ago; now it costs US$600,000 a day.
A lot of people also do not realise that the amount returned by PETRONAS to the Government makes up 35% of the Government’s total annual income, to be used by the Government for expenditures, development, operations, and yes, for the various subsidies. That means for every RM1 the Government makes, 35 sen is contributed by PETRONAS.
So, instead of asking what happens to PETRIONAS’ money or profits, people should be questioning how the money paid by PETRONAS to the Government is allocated.
CRUDE EXPORTS & FUEL PRICES
4) A lot of people also ask, why Malaysia exports its crude oil. Shouldn’t we just stop exporting and sell at cheaper prices to local refiners? If Malaysia is an oil exporting country, why can’t we sell petrol or diesel at cheaper prices like other oil producing countries in the Middle East?
I guess I don’t have to answer the first couple of questions. It’s simple economics, and crude oil is a global commodity.
Why can’t we sell petrol and diesel at lower prices like in the Middle East? Well, comparing Saudi Arabia and other big producers to Malaysia is like comparing kurma to durian, because these Middle Eastern countries have much, much, much bigger oil and gas
reserves.
Malaysia has only 5.4 billion barrels of oil reserves, and about 89 trillion cubic feet of gas. Compare that to Saudi Arabia’s 260 billion barrels of oil and 240 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Malaysia only produces 600,000 barrels per day of oil. Saudi Arabia produces 9 million barrels per day. At this rate, Saudi Arabia’s crude oil sales revenue could amount to US$1.2 billion per day! At this rate, it can practically afford almost everything — free education, healthcare, etc, and subsidies — for its people.
But if we look at these countries closely, they have in the past few years started to come up with policies and strategies designed to prolong their reserves and diversify their income bases. In this sense, Malaysia (and PETRONAS) has had a good head start, as we have been doing this a long time.
Fuel prices in Malaysia is controlled by the Government based on a formula under the Automatic Pricing Mechanism introduced more than a couple of decades ago. It is under this mechanism that the complex calculation of prices is made, based on the actual cost of petrol or diesel, the operating costs, margin for dealers, margin for retail oil companies (including PETRONAS Dagangan Bhd) and the balancing number of duty or subsidy. No retail oil companies or dealers actually make money from the hike of the fuel prices. Oil companies pay for the products at market prices, but have to sell low, so the Government reimburses the difference — thus subsidy.
Subsidy as a concept is OK as long as it benefits the really deserving segment of the population. But there has to be a limit to how much and how long the Government should bear and sustain subsidy. An environment where prices are kept artificially low indefinitely will not do anyone any good. That’s why countries like Indonesia are more pro-active in removing subsidies. Even Vietnam (which is a socialist country, by the way) is selling fuel at market prices.
PETRONAS & TRANSPARENCY
5) I feel I also need to say something on the allegation that PETRONAS is not transparent in terms of its accounts, business transactions etc.
PETRONAS is first and foremost a company, operating under the rules and regulations of the authorities including the Registrar of Companies, and the Securities Commission and Bursa Malaysia for its listed four subsidiaries (PETRONAS Dagangan Bhd, PETRONAS Gas Bhd, MISC Bhd and KLCC Property Holdings Bhd.
PETRONAS the holding company produces annual reports which are made to whomever wants them, and are distributed to many parties and places; including to the library at the Parliament House for perusal and reading pleasure of all Yang Berhormat MPs (if they care to read). PETRONAS also makes the annual report available on its website, for those who bother to look. The accounts are duly audited.
The website also contains a lot of useful information, if people really care to find out. Although PETRONAS is not listed on Bursa Malaysia, for all intents and purposes, it could be considered a listed entity as its bonds and financial papers are traded overseas. This requires scrutiny from investors, and from rating agencies such as Standard & Poor and Moody’s.
BOYCOTT PETRONAS?
6) The last time I checked, this is still a democratic country, where people are free to spend their money wherever they like.
For those who like to see more of the money that they spend go back to the local economy and benefiting their fellow Malaysians, perhaps they should consider sticking to local products or companies.
For those who like to see that the money they spend go back to foreign shareholders of the foreign companies overseas, they should continue buying foreign products.
FINAL WORD (FOR TODAY)
I’m sorry this is rather long, but I just have to convey it. I hope this would help some of you out there understand something. The oil and gas industry, apart from being very capital intensive, is also very complex and volatile. I’m learning new things almost every single day.
6.12.2008
Boeing 787 Power-on Testing
Dunia masih menghitung hari menantikan test flight bagi Boeing 787. Hari ini mereka baru menghidupkan sistem pada pesawat tersebut. Detail perkembangan pembinaan pesawat ini boleh didapati di blog ini.
WICHITA, KS -- Just feet behind the football field sized door of Building 40-26 at Boeing's Everett, Washington facility, a small group of program staff Wednesday began breathing life into the first 787 Dreamliner.
The aircraft was powered-on for the first time, marking the beginning of a check-out process to validate the systems integration of the 787.
Boeing has confirmed the testing has begun and has issued this statement:
"We're pleased the process has begun, and we are confident we'll meet the milestone in June."
Boeing added that the power-on process is to last between 10 days and two weeks and is expected to be completed by the end of the month.
At the most recent delay announcement in April, Vice President and General Manager of the 787 Program Pat Shanahan outlined a series of key milestones that would occur by June 30.
To track program progress, those milestones included the move of the static and fatigue structural test aircraft to test locations, the beginning of final assembly of Dreamliners Three and Four, hardware airworthiness qualifications and the completion of power-on testing.
To date the static test airframe has moved to its test facilty, final assembly of Dreamliner Three is well underway and many major structures for Dreamliner Four have arrived in Everett. Once the fatigue test airframe is moved later this month, Dreamliner Four can begin final assembly as the body join station becomes available.
In May, Shanahan underscored the importance of the power-on testing:
"We'll have a good understanding of how well we've done systems integration and it's really at that point we understand what kind of airplane we have and a bunch of risk gets retired.
"So, if you called up July first and said, "Pat, how's it going? What do you know about this airplane?" I'll know significant amount more about the airplane and our ability to meet schedule on July first. We'll have taken all our work in the lab and put it in one airplane, so it's a big deal for us."
Shanahan, who took the helm of the 787 program in October 2007, was on hand for the commencement of power-on testing Wednesday.
Indications of commencement of power-on testing were running rampant earlier this week in Everett with the arrival of lit beacon signs on the factory floor reading When illuminated, production test in progress, as well as a newly erected perimeter around Dreamliner One Warning - Power On Testing - Authorized Personnel Only - No Entrance - No Exceptions.
According to several program sources, flat panel TV monitors have been set up on the factory floor showing a live video feed of the cockpit instruments.
Boeing, taking all appropriate precautions for their early power-on tests, had the facility fire department on hand.
This is a developing story and will be updated as details become available.
sumber : http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/flightblogger/2008/06/breaking-exclusive-787-poweron.html
6.10.2008
Sudan Airways terhempas di Khartoum
Airbus A310 Sudan Airways terhempas di Khartoum.
Date: June 10, 2008 Time: 20:45
Location: Khartoum, Sudan
Operator: Sudan Airways Flight: 109
AC Type: Airbus A-310-324
Reg: ST-ATN cn: 548
Aboard: 214 Fatalities 32 Ground: 0
Route: Aman, Jordan - Damascus, Syria - Khartoum, Sudan
Details: While landing in poor weather, the plane skidded off the runway, hit navigation poles and burst into flames. The plane had flown from Amman via Damascus but been turned back once from Khartoum and forced to land in Port Sudan, on the Red Sea, because of bad weather, before being allowed to return to Khartoum.
Statement dari Airbus
SUDAN AIRWAYS FLIGHT SD109 ACCIDENT IN KHARTOUM
11 June 2008
Media Information on Sudan Airways Flight SD109
Airbus regrets to confirm that an Airbus A310 operated by Sudan Airways was involved in an accident in Khartoum on 10th June at approximately 8:30 pm local time. The aircraft was operating a scheduled service, Flight SD109, from Amman, Jordan via Damascus, Syria, to Khartoum, Sudan.
The aircraft involved in the accident, with registration number ST-ATN, was MSN (Manufacturer Serial Number) 548, first delivered from the production line in August 1990, and operated by Sudan Airways since September 2007. The aircraft had logged some 52,000 flight hours and some 21,000 flight cycles. It was powered by Pratt & Whitney PW 4152 engines. At this time no further factual information is available.
In line with ICAO Annex 13 international convention, Airbus will provide technical assistance to the French Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses (BEA) and to the Authorities of Sudan. A go-team of five Airbus specialists is being dispatched to Sudan to assist the Authorities.
The Airbus A310 is a twin-engine wide-body aircraft seating 220 passengers in a standard two-class configuration. The first Airbus A310 entered service in April 1983. By the end of April 2008, 220 A310 were in service with 28 operators. To date, the entire fleet has accumulated some 11.3 million flight hours in some 4.3 million flights.
The concerns and sympathy of the Airbus employees go to the families, friends and loved ones affected by the accident of Sudan Airways Flight SD109.
Airbus is an EADS company.
For further information, please contact:
AIRBUS - MEDIA RELATIONS
Tel.: (33) 05.61.93.33.87 or 05.61.93.34.31
5.28.2008
Selamat Tinggal Sheffield
Pada hari ini saya kembali ke tanahair bagi menyambung berkhidmat di Universiti Putra Malaysia. Kali ini saya pulang dengan menaiki pesawat A380 SIA dari London Heathrow.
Menaiki pesawat yang belum teruji keupayaan meletakkan kita dalam serba salah antara keseronokkan dan ketakutan. Seronok kerana sapat menaiki pesawat yang dianggap terbesar dan tercanggih. Takut kerana banyak kemungkinan boleh berlaku.
Dakwaanku ternyata ada benarnya. Ketika pesawat A380 tersebut mula bergerak ke taxiway untuk take off, tiba-tiba pilot ambil keputusan untuk kembali ke terminal kerana masalah pada engine. Namun saya tidak panik sangat kerana saya percaya pilot SIA lebih panik memandangkan hanya terdapat 4 buah saya pesawat tersebut yang sedang digunakan sekarang ini. Airbus dan Rolls-Royce telah dipanggil bagi mengenalpasti masalah tersebut.
Untuk pengetahuan Rolls Royce menggunakan satelite untuk monitor engine pesawatnya ketika terbang. Kalau berlaku masalah pada salah-satu enjin, peswat tersebut masih boleh mendarat dengan selamat kerana mempunyai 4 enjin.
Setelah hampir 2 jam delay, akhirnya pesawat tersebut clear untuk take off. Namun ketika take off, pesawat ini agak bising sikit yang datangnya dari engin, jika dibandingkan dengan pesawat Airbus dan boeing yang lain. Bila cruise, keadaannya sepertimana pesawat-pesawat yang lain. Aku amat particular sikit dengan cabin noise ini kerana kerja aku selama ini memang mengurangkan bunyi bising yang dihasilkan oleh enjin pesawat.
5.26.2008
Spacecraft Phoenix selamat mendarat di Marikh
Semalam spacecraft Phoenix selamat mendarat di planet marikh. Sebelum Pheonix, NASA sudahpun menghantar 2 robot ke sana iaitu Spirit dan Opportunity pada awal tahun 2004. Dalam Mars exploration, saya hanya berminat dengan teknologi yang mereka develop sahaja. Saya langsung tidak berminat dengan apa yang mereka akan temui di sana kerana saya tetap berpendapat tidak ada haiwan yang berakal yang tinggal disana. Kalau ada makhluk lain di planet lain, sudah semestinya telah diceritakan dalam Al Quran dan Nabi Muhammad saw kerana baginda adalah rasul bagi sekelian alam. Selain dari makluk di bumi, kita hanya diceritakan oleh baginda berkenaan malaikat, jin dan syaitan.
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Mars Craft Succeeds in Soft Landing
Phoenix to Begin Search for Signs of Life Beyond Earth
By Marc Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 26, 2008; A01
The spacecraft Phoenix landed safely on Mars yesterday, making a hazardous soft landing on the planet's far north with all its scientific systems apparently intact and ready to begin an intensive new search for life beyond Earth.
After counting down the last stage of the descent by hundreds and then tens of nerve-racking meters, officials at Mission Control in Pasadena, Calif., announced that "Phoenix has landed," setting off a joyous celebration by the mission team.
"It could not have gone better, not in my dreams," said Barry Goldstein, NASA's project manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.
The touchdown, at about 8 p.m. Eastern time, was the first successful soft landing on the Red Planet -- using a parachute and thrusters rather than protective air bags -- since the twin Viking missions in 1976. In all, six of 11 similar attempts by the United States, Russia and England ended in failure, so the Phoenix team awaited with enormous apprehension the outcome of the spacecraft's approach and landing.
Phoenix plunged into the thin Martian atmosphere traveling at more than 12,000 mph. Over the next seven minutes, friction -- which raised the temperature on the heat shield to 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit -- slowed it enough to deploy the parachute.
About half a mile from the surface, and with only seconds remaining before touching down, 12 small rocket thrusters fired to slow the lander's descent speed to 5 mph. Before it landed, however, Phoenix had to orient itself toward the sun to ensure that its solar panels could pick up enough light to generate the power it will need on the surface.
Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, lead investigator for the mission, said earlier that the entry would amount to "seven minutes of terror" for the scientists.
Like the Viking landers, Phoenix is designed to look for organic material and other signs that life has existed on Mars, or could exist on the planet. Unlike the two rovers that have been exploring the Martian surface for nearly five years, Phoenix is built to stay in one place and use its robotic arm to dig into the soil and ice. The vehicle is equipped with several miniature chemistry labs to analyze the material it digs up.
The lander touched down further north on Mars than any previous lander. NASA scientists think the frozen water on or near the surface may tell them whether the minerals and organic compounds needed for life as we know it exist, or have ever existed, on the planet.
Throughout the descent and landing, NASA engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory were receiving data on the spacecraft's progress 15 minutes after events occurred -- helpless to intervene if anything went wrong. Transmissions were sent from Phoenix to the orbiting Mars Odyssey spacecraft, then relayed back to Earth at the speed of light over the 171 million miles between the planets.
Phoenix, named for the mythological bird reborn from its ashes, was assembled largely from parts manufactured for other spacecraft. After two Mars mission failures in 1999, the space agency scrapped a lander mission planned for 2000 and recycled some of the hardware.
One of those failures was the last time NASA tried a soft landing on Mars. The Mars Polar Lander was angling for the south pole when it prematurely shut off its engine and crashed to the surface below. The other failure involved a spacecraft that was supposed to go into orbit around Mars; NASA lost contact with it during the approach, and its fate is unknown.
The 900-pound, three-legged Phoenix lander, which cost $457 million, traveled a circuitous path of 423 million miles over almost 10 months to reach Mars. A rocket-and-parachute landing system -- like that of the Viking landers of 32 years ago -- was chosen because it allowed NASA to better pinpoint the landing location. The system is also a prototype of one that NASA hopes will one day land astronauts on Mars.
The later Mars Pathfinder and the two robot rovers, Opportunity and Spirit, which have been exploring the planet's equatorial region, landed using air bags to cushion the impact. Air bags are not practical for heavier craft such as the Phoenix because the weight of bigger bags reduces the amount of scientific equipment that can be carried.
The Phoenix was targeted at the north polar region because that is where some form of water (in the form of ice) is most likely to be present, and scientists believe that a form of water is necessary for life. They are convinced that surface water flowed on Mars billions of years ago, a conclusion reached by studying geologic features of the Martian landscape. Today, conditions on Mars do not allow for liquid water, in large part because the atmosphere is only 1 percent as dense as Earth's.
In 2002, however, the Mars Odyssey orbiter discovered that large amounts of water ice lay just beneath the surface in the permafrost that covers much of far northern Mars. Scientists say the region, which is notably flat and smooth, may have once been the bottom of a large ocean.
They are also intrigued that the surface shows polygonal patterns remarkably similar to some seen in Antarctica. Scientists speculate that they could be the result of cycles of freezing and thawing.
In addition to its sophisticated cameras, soil retrievers and mini-laboratories, Phoenix carried on its journey a mini-DVD created by the Planetary Society called "Visions of Mars." It holds a library of science fiction stories and art, as well as the names of more than 250,000 people.
The DVD, featuring the likes of Carl Sagan, Arthur C. Clarke and Ray Bradbury, is made of material designed to last for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
5.25.2008
Boeing 747 pecah ketika berlepas
Ada berita yang mengerikan berlaku di Brussel hari ini. Pesawat boeing 747-200 kargo pecah dua ketika berlepas. Masalah utama semestinya masalah "fatique fracture" kerana ia dibuat pada bulan julai 1980. Sudah berumur 28 tahun. Selepas 25 tahun pesawat komersil sudah hampir tidak selamat digunakan. Lazimnya, bila sudah menjangkau 20 tahun, pesawat penumpang akan ditukarkan menjadi pesawat kargo kerana jika berlaku sebarang yang tak diingini, hanya beberapa orang sahaja yang akan terkorban.
Kejadian ini amat menajutkan kerana pesawat tersebut tidak meletup walaupun minyak penuh. Ramai yang komen mengenai pesawat ini berlepas menggunakan landasan yang pendek iaitu lebih kurang 3000 meter jika dibandingkan keperluan 747 iaitu 3700 meter. Ini menyebabkan ia patah ditengah kerana bodynya tak mampu menanggung "angle of attack" yang agak drastik.
Kejadian yang serupa tidak mustahil boleh berlaku di Bayan Lepas kerana landasan di sana hanya 3352 meter sahaja. Selama ini pun, pesawat 747 dengan muatan penuh tidak dibenarkan "take off" dari Bayan Lepas bagi mengelakkan kejadian yang tidak diingini berlaku.
Harap Kerajaan Pulau Pinang buat sesuatu sebelum sesuatu yang buruk berlaku.
A large cargo plane crashed at the end of a runway and split in two while trying to take off Sunday at Brussels airport, authorities said.
Four of the five crew members on board the Boeing 747 were slightly injured and were hospitalized, said Jan Van der Cruysse, spokesman at Brussels Airport.
"The plane is very seriously damaged," he said. The aircraft cracked in two after it crashed at the end of runway 220, which lies very close to a rail line and houses.
Rail services to and from the airport were suspended as a safety precaution, however the crash did not affect other flights at the airport, Van der Cruysse said.
Francis Vermeiren, mayor of the nearby town of Zaventem, said the plane did not catch on fire when it crashed after attempting to take off. Vermeiren was coordinating rescue efforts at the airport. "The plane is not on fire but it has split into two," he told VRT radio.
Firefighters coated the wings of the plane with special fire retardant foam as a precaution because the plane was still full of jet fuel, the mayor said.
He said the plane was on a scheduled flight to Bahrain. It was not known what cargo the plane was carrying.
Vermeiren said the pilot told rescue authorities he heard a large noise while trying to take off just after midday. It was not yet clear what caused the crash.
The plane is owned by Kalitta Air, a cargo carrier based at Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti, Michigan, and makes regular flights from Brussels, officials said. A person who answered the telephone at Kalitta Air said Sunday morning that no one was immediately available to comment.
5.17.2008
Ranking SETARA
Hari ini menteri baru MOHE mengistiharkan keputusan Sistem Penarafan Institusi Pengajian Tinggi Awam (Setara) pula. Sepatutnya bulan Mei ini kementerian mengistiharkan APEX universiti.
PUTRAJAYA, 16 Mei (Bernama) -- Universiti Malaya (UM) hari ini diiktiraf sebagai universiti cemerlang apabila memperoleh skor 5 bagi kategori universiti berasaskan penyelidikan menurut kajian Sistem Penarafan Institusi Pengajian Tinggi Awam (Setara) tahun lalu.
Menteri Pengajian Tinggi Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin pencapaian UM itu mengatasi tiga lagi universiti dalam kelas sama iaitu Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) dan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) yang memperoleh skor 4 (Sangat Baik) manakala Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) pula memperoleh skor 3 (Baik).
"Ini pertama kali kita menggunakan sistem ini (Setara) dan ia bertujuan mengenal pasti kekuatan dan kelemahan IPTA dalam usaha membudayakan penambahbaikan kualiti berterusan," katanya kepada pemberita di sini Jumaat.
Kajian Setara dilakukan oleh pasukan yang diketuai oleh Pengarah Institut Alam dan Tamadun Melayu UKM Dr Che Husna Azhari bersama empat tenaga akademik UKM dan seorang wakil bebas, serta diselia oleh Agensi Kelayakan Malaysia (MQA).
Bagi kategori universiti umum, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM) dan Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) berada di skor 4 (Sangat Baik) manakala Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) dan Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) berada di skor 3 (Baik).
Bagi kategori universiti khusus, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) berada di skor 3 (Baik) manakala Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn (UTTHO), Universiti Malaysia Perlis (Unimap), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka (Utem) dan Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) berada di skor 2 (Memuaskan), katanya.
Mohamed Khaled berkata sistem penarafan yang dipersetujui Jemaah Menteri pada Oktober 2005 itu mengandungi enam domain utama dan 89 indikator, serta dinilai berdasarkan skor 1-6 dengan yang tertinggi dikategorikan sebagai terbilang, diikuti dengan cemerlang, sangat baik, baik, memuaskan dan yang terakhir adalah lemah.
"Kalau dibandingkan dengan Times Higher Education Supplement (THES), domain mereka kebanyakannya lebih kepada persepsi, manakala sistem ini lebih komprehensif dengan domain seperti reputasi staf akademik, pemilihan pelajar, penyelidikan, program akademik, sumber dan pengurusan," katanya.
Sistem Setara, yang dilaksanakan setiap dua tahun, kata beliau akan digunakan sebagai penanda aras untuk menentukan usaha bagi memperbaiki kedudukan universiti Malaysia dalam ranking THES.
Keputusan terperinci Setara akan diserahkan kepada universiti berkaitan untuk tindakan lanjut, katanya, yang tidak menolak kemungkinan untuk memperluaskan penggunaan sistem itu di kalangan institut pengajian tinggi swasta (IPTS).
-- BERNAMA
5.16.2008
Selamat hari Guru
Selamat hari guru diucapkan kepada semua warga guru di seluruh negara. Tanpa golongan yang bergelar cikgu, siapa saya pada hari ini. Artikel ini disiarkan di Utusan pada hari kebangsaan 2006 yang lepas untuk mengenang jasa-jasa guru.
Saya memerhati perkembangan Airasia dengan penuh minat. Tetapi, sejak lepas PRU12, saya telah meramalkan "ikatan" yang dipasang pada kaki dan tangan MAS akan terungkai. Statement CEO Asiaasia hari ini amat dikesai. Sepatutnya bersainglah secara professional. Setelah menikmati laluan KL-SIN, Airasia masih dilihat belum puashati lagi dengan apa yang sempat dikecapainya sebelum menjelang PRU yang lalu.
Perlu ingat, kerugian pada Mas adalah melibatkan wang rakyat. Apa salahnya MAS memberi perkhidmatan kepada rakyat Malaysia dengan harga yang minimun. Sudah lama saya mendesak MAS menurunkan harga tambang bagi memberi khidmat sosial kepada rakyat di negara kita.
KUALA LUMPUR 14 Mei – AirAsia Bhd., syarikat penerbangan tambang murah terbaik di rantau ini, hari ini mengakui ia tergugat dengan tindakan agresif Malaysian Airline System Bhd. (MAS) mempromosikan kempen ‘Tambang Murah Setiap Hari’.
Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif AirAsia, Datuk Tony Fernandes berkata, walaupun persaingan tersebut baik untuk para pelanggan, tetapi tindakan MAS itu dilihat sebagai ‘menceroboh’ pasarannya.
Dalam satu temu bual dengan Utusan Malaysia di sini, beliau menyifatkan tindakan MAS itu sebagai ‘menikam’ AirAsia secara terang-terangan kerana AirAsia tidak diberi peluang dan keistimewaan seperti mana yang diperoleh oleh syarikat penerbangan kebangsaan itu.
Selain menerima subsidi daripada kerajaan, Fernandes mendakwa MAS turut diberi hak dalam menentukan harga tambang, pilihan destinasi dan kekerapan penerbangan.
Pada 5 Mei lalu, MAS telah menawarkan sejuta tiket percuma ke semua destinasi domestik menerusi produk terbarunya ‘Tambang Murah Setiap Hari’.
Pengarah Urusannya, Datuk Seri Idris Jala berkata, MAS memperuntukkan secara percuma sehingga 30 peratus tempat duduk dalam setiap penerbangan bagi membolehkan pelanggan menikmati perkhidmatan lima bintang MAS pada tambang sifar.
Bagaimanapun, tambang percuma itu tidak termasuk cukai lapangan terbang dan surcaj.
Menurut Fernandes, promosi MAS itu adalah sesuatu yang tidak adil.
Katanya, industri penerbangan di Malaysia tidak seperti di China, Thailand mahupun Indonesia yang memberi keadilan saksama kepada semua syarikat penerbangan sama ada milik kerajaan dan syarikat penerbangan murah.
“China Airlines dan Eva Airways, Thai Airlines dan Thai AirAsia serta Garuda Indonesia dan Indonesia AirAsia diberikan laluan yang sama dan tidak ada masalah dalam persaingan.
“Kalau negara-negara itu boleh memberikan layanan yang sama, kenapa (di Malaysia) Air- Asia tidak boleh?’’ katanya.
Fernandes berkata, AirAsia tidak gentar dalam menghadapi perang harga dengan MAS, tetapi syarikat itu mengharapkan ia berlaku secara saksama.
“Kami tidak menentang persaingan kerana ia baik untuk (membolehkan AirAsia) menjadi peneraju dalam perniagaan ini.
“Tetapi kalau betul-betul hendak bersaing, kerajaan tidak patut mengikat sebelah ‘tangan’ kami,” katanya.
Beliau menegaskan: “Kami akan terus berjuang untuk meneruskan kelangsungan nyawa AirAsia termasuk untuk kepentingan 5,000 kakitangannya.’’
Ditanya sejauh mana kesan kempen promosi MAS terhadap AirAsia, beliau berkata: “Sekarang belum lagi (nampak kesan) tetapi lambat-laun akan terasa juga.’’
Fernandes memberitahu, setakat ini jualan bagi tiket-tiket penerbangan AirAsia meningkat sebanyak 20 peratus.
Beliau menjelaskan, AirAsia tidak meminta keadilan yang keterlaluan kecuali lebih banyak laluan ke Singapura yang merupakan destinasi popular dan paling menguntungkan syarikat tersebut.
AirAsia ditubuhkan pada tahun 2001 dan kini memiliki lebih daripada 100 destinasi di dalam dan luar negara.
Setakat ini, AirAsia hanya diberi kebenaran untuk membuat penerbangan 14 kali seminggu ke Singapura, manakala MAS pula 69 kali.
Syarikat itu juga mahu ia diberikan laluan menarik iaitu Singapura-Kuala Lumpur, Singapura-Kota Kinabalu, Singapura-Langkawi, Singapura-Pulau Pinang.
Dalam temu bual itu, Fernandes juga mempersoalkan mengapa MAS berminat memasuki pasaran AirAsia sedangkan ia boleh mengaut keuntungan daripada laluan-laluan sedia ada yang tidak diperoleh oleh syarikat tambang murah itu.
“Kalau MAS dibenarkan menawarkan kempen tambang murah, mengapa AirAsia tidak dibenarkan mendapat penerbangan lebih ke Singapura?
“Kami tidak minta banyak, hanya separuh daripada apa yang MAS dapat dan kami akan berjuang untuk mendapat laluan ini seperti yang kami lakukan enam tahun lalu untuk mendapat laluan Singapura,’’ tegas beliau.
Diminta mengulas kempen MAS yang turut menawarkan tambang murah bagi laluan ke destinasi-destinasi ASEAN dan sebahagian laluan ke China, Fernandes berkata: “Semoga MAS berjaya.’’
******************************************************************************************
Berita dari Bernama.
15 Mei, 2008 23:29 PM
Surcaj Bahan Api Yang Rendah Tingkatkan Jualan AirAsia
KUALA LUMPUR, 15 Mei (Bernama) -- Syarikat penerbangan tambang murah tempatan AirAsia telah menyaksikan peningkatan dalam jualan selepas mengurangkan surcaj bahan apinya, kata ketua pegawai eksekutif Datuk Tony Fernandes.
Beliau menambah syarikat penerbangan itu juga tidak merancang untuk menaikkan surcaj bahan apinya walaupun harga minyak mentah melonjak ke AS$125 setong hari ini.
"Kami perlu bersaing (berkaitan dengan surcaj bahan api), malah, jumlah jualan juga telah meningkat. Jadi, penurunan surcaj bahan api akan diimbangi oleh peningkatan jualan," kata beliau.
"Kami tidak berhasrat untuk menaikkan surcaj kami," kata beliau kepada pemberita selepas melancarkan perkhidmatan penerbangan AirAsia X ke Perth, Australia Barat.
Menurut pegawai syarikat, surcaj bahan api AirAsia ialah 40 peratus lebih murah berbanding syarikat penerbangan penuh.
Sementara itu, Fernandes mengulangi yang AirAsia yakin dapat bertahan dengan sebarang saingan harga yang diperkenalkan oleh syarikat penerbangan negara Malaysia Airlines (MAS) asalkan mereka berada di persekitaran perniagaan yang sama.
"Saya tiada masalah dengan saingan. Saya tidak tersinggung dengan MAS kerana ia ada tambang sifar. Ia adalah baik untuk pengguna. Tapi, kami mesti ada semua yang MAS ada," tegas beliau.
"Adalah tidak adil yang kami tidak boleh mengadakan penerbangan ke Singapura. MAS tidak boleh kaut keuntungan atas laluan Singapura dan menggunakannya untuk mengurangkan tambangnya di sini.
"MAS dapat subsidi atas laluan yang mengalami kerugian, kamipun ada laluan yang tidak mendatangkan keuntungan. Falsafah saya ialah tiada siapa yang patut dapat subsidi."
Perang harga antara kedua-dua syarikat penerbangan bermula apabila MAS memperkenalkan kempen tambang sifar untuk laluan-laluan domestik minggu lepas dan mengumumkan satu lagi untuk laluan-laluan Asean semalam.
Ia menjadi lebih teruk apabila AirAsia membalas dengan menawarkan promosi "subzero" untuk tiket-tiketnya.
Fernandes turut membidas MAS kerana mengendalikan syarikat penerbangan tambang murah turboprop milik penuhnya, FireFly, dari Lapangan Terbang Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah di Subang.
Ditanya apakah strategi AirAsia untuk kekal menguntungkan, Fernandes berkata: "Strateginya amat jelas. Kami mahu mempertahankan pasaran tambang rendah kami dengan agresif, tetapi kami mahu persekitaran perniagaan yang sama rata.
"Telah enam tahun kami memintanya. Sudah tiba masanya untuk kami dapatkannya."
Beliau juga yakin yang syarikat penerbangan tambang murah itu akan mencapai satu lagi tahun menguntungkan sekira terdapatnya persekitaran perniagaan yang sama rata dengan MAS.
"Apa yang saya katakan, tolong benarkan persaingan yang adil. Benarkan kami ke laluan Singapura. Jangan berikan subsidi tambahan kepada MAS dan jangan adakan syarikat penerbangan alternatif di Subang," kata beliau.
Sementara itu, mengenai RM5 juta yang AirAsia masih berhutang dengan Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) seperti mana yang dikatakan oleh Menteri Pengangkutan Datuk Ong Tee Keat minggu ini, Fernandes berkata beliau yakin yang perkara itu boleh diselesaikan tidak lama lagi.
"Kami membayar MAHB kira-kira RM80 juta setahun, jadi, RM5 juta adalah jumlah yang kecil," kata beliau.
-- BERNAMA
5.12.2008
Pesawat Penumpang Buatan China
Hari ini China telah mendedahkan kepada dunia bahawa mereka telah mampu buat pesawat penumpang sendiri untuk kerana keperluan China dalam sektor penerbangan.
Published: May 11 2008 17:38 | Last updated: May 12 2008 01:14
China has unveiled a state-owned aircraft manufacturer intended to eventually challenge Boeing and Airbus’s control of the global market in large airliners.
The creation of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (CACC) is a significant step in Beijing’s drive to create an advanced civil aviation manufacturing sector able to help meet the country’s rapidly growing demand for regional and larger jets.
“The Chinese people must use their own two hands and their wisdom to manufacture internationally competitive large aircraft,” said Wen Jiabao, China’s premier, in remarks released by the government on Sunday. “It is the will of the nation and all its people to have a Chinese large aircraft soar into the blue sky,” Mr Wen said.
Beijing has made the development of an airliner with more than 150 seats by 2020 part of its national industrial policy, though ensuring such an aircraft is genuinely competitive will be a huge challenge.
Highlighting the difficulties, China recently delayed the first flight of a pioneering ARJ21 regional jet under development by China Aviation Industry Corporation I, better known as Avic I.
The ARJ21 programme will now be controlled by CACC, which will have its headquarters in Shanghai and has initial capital of Rmb19bn ($2.7bn).
The new company’s main shareholders include the government’s state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, Avic I and its sister company, Avic II, as well as Baosteel Group, the Aluminum Corporation of China (Chinalco) and Sinochem .
Making a success of the ARJ21, which has already won more than 170 orders, is likely to be highly important in winning the confidence of potential customers for larger future jets.
China, however, is not the only new entrant to the regional jet market, with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan developing ann airliner with 70-90 seats.
Unlike the ARJ21, Mitsubishi’s aircraft will feature extensive use of lightweight composite materials. It is also unclear how effectively CACC will be able to prosper in the market for larger jets, where Airbus and Boeing have carved out a highly competitive virtual duopoly.
Officials said that while promoting “autonomous innovation”, CACC would also seek to import vital technology from overseas. Mr Wen also made clear the new company would be able to rely on government backing, saying an ability to “concentrate resources” was a strong point of China’s socialist system.
“A review of international experience in aviation sector development shows that long-term and stable state support is a key factor in deciding the success or failure of large aircraft projects,” the premier said.
However, officials also sought to play down the challenge that CACC was likely to pose to Airbus and Boeing, stressing that the programme was a long-term effort. Jin Zhuanglong, CACC general manager, told Chinese media there was “no timetable” for when a large aircraft might be ready to fly.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
5.11.2008
Pergi balik ke London hanya RM 1200
Sepatutnya penerbangan ke London bermula Julai 2007, tapi telah delay ke hujung 2008 dan sekarang delay lagi ke Mac 2009. Kemana perginya 15 buah pesawat Airbus A330 yang ditempah ketika paris Airshow 2007 yang lalu?
Kalau nak tunggu pesawat A350XWB atau Boeing 787, Airasia kena tunggu sehingga tahun 2015.
Sunday May 11, 2008
To London and back - for RM1,200 By WONG SAI WAN
KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia X will start its flights to London in March next year. And it will cost only about RM1,200 for a return trip on an economy ticket.
The country’s first long-haul budget carrier had announced last year that the Kuala Lumpur-London route would be its mainstay but could not take off because there was no suitable aircraft.
AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes said he had signed up for the lease of an Airbus A340 aircraft a few days ago.
“We will take delivery of the plane in January and it will take us several months to refurbish it.
“It will be configured to house 50 flatbeds (sleeper seats) and the rest would be economy seats but will be bigger and more comfortable than even that of a full service carrier,” Fernandes said in an interview from London.
He estimated that the average cost of a return fare to London would be about RM1,200 while the higher-class flatbed seats would cost about RM8,000 return.
The economy return fare on full service carriers like Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines is between RM4,000 and RM4,500 while a business-class ticket on these airlines costs more than RM20,000.
Fernandes said his airline was still negotiating with a couple of airports near the Greater London area but “chances are we will settle for London's Standsted Airport.''
The airport is located in the Uttlesford district of the English county of Essex, about 48km northeast of London. Stansted is a hub for a number of major European low-cost airlines. It is Britain’s third largest airport serving the London area after Heathrow and Gatwick.
Fernandes said AirAsia X would start with five flights a week using the first aircraft but “we will build it up to eventually two flights on a daily basis.”
“Our on-board entertainment system will be a state-of-the-art touch screen unit. You can watch movies, listen to music and even order your food from the unit,” he added.
On the permanent aircraft for the long-haul routes, he said AirAsia X was still looking at the Airbus A350 or the Boeing 787 (commonly called the Dreamliner).
“We have not decided on which wide-body aircraft but we want one that can give us the flexibility to serve Europe and the Americas. We want to turn Kuala Lumpur into a truly low-cost hub,” the AirAsia founder said.
AirAsia X operates long-haul flights that take six hours or more. It now operates flights to two destinations – Gold Coast in Australia and Hangzhou in China. The airline had announced that it would be flying to Tiruchirapalli in India in a couple of months.
5.7.2008
SUBORBITAL SPACEPLANE DALAM PARLIMEN 6 MEI 2008
Berikut adalah hansard parlimen berkenaan pesawat angkasa.
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Yang Berhormat Pasir Mas.
Dato’ Ibrahim Ali [Pasir Mas]: Terima kasih Tuan Yang di-Pertua. Saya hendak bertanya Yang Berhormat Menteri, apakah Yang Berhormat Menteri sedar bahawa pelancar kenderaan Soyuz yang digunakan baru-baru ini sudah berusia 50 tahun, suku abad, setengah abad dan apakah yang kita boleh belajar daripada pembinaan teknologi daripada usia setengah abad itu? Apakah Yang Berhormat sedar bahawa belanja menghantar angkasawan seperti yang dibuat sekarang ini lebih tinggi kalau kita dapat membina prototaip iaitu pesawat prototaip suborbital yang kita tahu lebih murah, lebih efektif dan ini kalau dibuat lebih ramai lagi rakyat Malaysia boleh belajar minat ke angkasawan di mana kita tahu prototaip pesawat yang saya cadangkan tadi belanjanya murah. Kemudiannya ia diiktiraf oleh...
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Pendek. Yang Berhormat, soalan Yang Berhormat.
Dato’ Ibrahim Ali [Pasir Mas]: Ya, soalannya, soalanlah itu Tuan Yang di-Pertua. [Ketawa] Soalannya, pesawat ini juga kalau dihantar angkasawan, boleh dihantar angkasawan sebab mengikut kriteria Federal Aviation Administration Tuan Yang
di-Pertua...
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Yang Berhormat Pasir Mas, belum ada soalan itu.
Dato’ Ibrahim Ali [Pasir Mas]: Soalan tadi. Tuan Yang di-Pertua tidak dengar. Soalan tadi itu. Saya tanya dari segi apakah kerajaan bercadang untuk membangun pesawat yang saya sebutkan tadi prototaip. Sebab ini lebih murah dan ia canggih sebagaimana contoh Tuan Yang di-Pertua, soalan dia boleh kalau dalam zaman rakyat tidak suka kepada pemimpinlah contohnya, seperti sekarang. Dia boleh bawa lari pemimpin-pemimpin...
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Cukup Yang Berhormat, cukup Yang Berhormat.
Dato’ Ibrahim Ali [Pasir Mas]: ...15 minit ke angkasa. [Ketawa] Ya, terima kasih.
Timbalan Yang di-Pertua [Datuk Dr. Haji Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar]: Biar menteri bagi sebab Yang Berhormat. [Dewan riuh] [Ketawa] Sila, sila Yang Berhormat Menteri.
Datuk Dr. Maximus Johnity Ongkili: Tuan Yang di-Pertua, soalan tadi semua kabur-kabur di sana-sini, melintas melintang. Namun dari segi gist nut dengan izin, ini adalah antara sebenarnya matlamat asal program ini iaitu mengejar teknologi yang ada dan di mana yang relevan itu memindahkan teknologi tersebut. Dari segi pembentukan prototaip dan seterusnya, sebenarnya itu tidak payah oleh sebab teknologi yang sedia ada itu hanya perlu diteliti di mana yang relevan, digunakan dan diadapt daripada membina semula apa yang dicadangkan oleh Yang Berhormat. Dari segi anggapan bahawa kos itu tinggi, sebenarnya ini adalah salah Tuan Yang di-Pertua. Kos yang telah pun digunakan adalah setimpal dengan kos-kos misi seperti ini dan sebenarnya lebih rendah daripada kos misi sebelum ini disebabkan pertukaran nilai wang kita. Kalau saya ingin maklumkan dari segi kos, kerana ini telah pun disebut dan disalah tafsirkan. Untuk makluman Dewan yang mulia ini, kos sebenar adalah yang ditanggung oleh negara Malaysia adalah RM39.11 juta. Ini merangkumi RM16.8 juta yang dibiayai terus oleh kementerian dan RM22.28 juta yang ditanggung oleh agensi-agensi berkaitan seperti agensi NUKLEAR, MIMOS, MACRIS, APSB dan Kementerian Kewangan melalui program publisiti dan juga SIRIM. Perlu juga saya tekankan Yang Berhormat di Dewan yang mulia ini, bahawa dalam soal kos ini sebenarnya program angkasawan ke stesen angkasa antarabangsa tersebut adalah termaktub dalam kontrak supplementary agreement dengan Kerajaan Rusia. Di mana merupakan projek timbal balas ataupun off-set dengan izin kepada pembelian pesawat Sukhoi oleh Kementerian Pertahanan. Untuk makluman Dewan yang mulia ini, nilai nominal projek tersebut adalah USD23.7 juta ataupun dalam Ringgit Malaysia dalam pertukaran sekarang RM75.8 juta yang ditanggung oleh Kerajaan Rusia. Jadi, anggapan bahawa kita telah menggunakan ratusan duit rakyat dan seterusnya dan mahal, itu adalah salah tanggapan dan saya harap maklumat yang telah saya laporkan ini akan dapat memperbetulkan tanggapan.
Saya memang mengharapkan selepas PRU12 yang lalu, ini akan menjadi kenyataan. Cuma AirAsia harus faham, siapa yang jadi pesaing siapa dalam negara kita. Sekarang MAS boleh bersaing tanpa "kaki dan tanganya diikat". Hidup MAS!
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Tuesday May 6, 2008
MAS profits via new scheme
PETALING JAYA: By offering limited zero-fare seats for domestic flights, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is actually making money for seats that would have otherwise been unsold.
MAS managing director/chief executive officer Datuk Seri Idris Jala said that on average, domestic MAS flights were only 70% full.
“So the remaining 30% we would not have been sold anyway. By offering zero-fare for these seats, it’s actually giving us some incremental revenue through the YSQ charges (fuel surcharge, administrative fee and airport tax).
“It’s profitable in the sense that rather than letting them go empty, we have some revenue for it. But if we were to sell the entire plane seats at that rate, then of course we rugi (suffer losses),” he told the press after launching the zero fare for domestic destinations here yesterday.
It was reported yesterday that such tickets could only be obtained through the MAS website www.malaysiaairlines.com and passengers had to make bookings at least a month before the travel period.
For domestic offer, the total charge for travel between the peninsula and Sabah and Sarawak is RM122.40.
For domestic travel without crossing the South China Sea, the charge will be RM81.45.
He added that this would only be implemented on lean flights and not for peak-period flights.
“It’s part of managing the inventory. If you give an open period, it’s not the best practice for managing it.
“We’re starting with zero fare in controlled seats, but if there is over-subscription, then we will put in a nominal fare. We will take stock of this, and then examine it on a flight-by-flight basis, then we will open the inventory for subsequent bookings in future.”
He said the cost for running their latest product was “very negligible”, as it only involved serving food, drinks and fuel cost for carrying additional passengers.
MAS has 1.3 million zero-fare seats up for grabs from now until the end of the year, but the booking period is only until May 19.
Asked if MAS would honour the bookings made even if fuel prices shot up, Jala replied: “Whatever we sell the passengers, we’ll honour.”
Asked if this was a measure taken to compete with low-cost carrier, AirAsia, he said:
“AirAsia has always said that they have created new demands from low fares and I entirely agree with them.
“When we come out to do this, we are also creating new demand.”
Plans to extend such fares for the Asean routes will be announced later this month, but Jala said there was currently no need to include long-haul flights as “loads to Australia, New Zealand and Europe were very good”.
AirAsia makes it a battle in the skies with its own offer By WONG SAI WAN
KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia has countered Malaysia Airline’s Zero Fare campaign claiming that their cheapest air ticket still costs less than the national carrier’s latest product that was launched yesterday.
The budget carrier’s chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes announced that his airline would come out with two new initiatives. They are:
> AirAsia will pay the difference to any of his passengers if they can find any MAS airfare that is lower than the cheapest offered by AirAsia.
> A sub-Zero Fare campaign.
“Just print out the confirmed booking from MAS and I will pay the difference. As for the sub-Zero Fare, which will be launched in the next few days, it will be cheaper than zero,” said Fernandes in an interview.
Reacting to the MAS campaign which was launched by its managing director Datuk Seri Idris Jala yesterday, Fernandes said he was “very flattered” by the full-service carrier’s latest initiative because it was a copy of what AirAsia had been doing.
“This is the10th time that MAS has copied us. I guess imitation is the best form of flattery,” he added.
MAS announced that it has launched a new product that it called Zero Fare whereby domestic travellers need only pay the airport tax and surcharges. Jala also announced that the airline had set aside one million tickets for the travel period between June 10 and Dec 14.
For the domestic offer, the total charge for travel between the peninsula and Sabah and Sarawak is RM122.40. For domestic travel without crossing the South China Sea, the charge will be RM81.45.
The tickets can only be purchased on-line. MAS is expected to expand this offer to Asean routes soon.
The Star front-paged this report yesterday and by mid-day the MAS website (www.malaysiaairlines.com) was reporting heavy traffic.
Fernandes also produced a list of prices to compare the fares offered by AirAsia against MAS' to prove that his was cheaper.
He said that he was sure that consumers would know which airline is making a better offer especially since his AirAsia gives better service.
“We have newer aircraft, better and hot food – although passengers have to buy them on board – better seats which are more spacious and we definitely have better crew.
“We have more frequency to local destinations.
“We have more point-to-point routes; for example one can fly directly from Penang to Kota Kinabalu or Johor Baru to Miri without having to transit at another airport,” said the AirAsia boss.
He also revealed that his airline had started selling hot roti canai on board his planes last month and would introduce chicken rice and satay soon.
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Tuesday May 6, 2008
AirAsia boss: Let us compete against MAS
KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia has hit out at Malaysia Airlines for competing directly with its business model but at the same time not allowing the budget carrier to compete against the national airline.
AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes said that while he welcomes competition, he urged that his company be allowed to compete against MAS.
“The first thing they should do is to allow us to fly more flights to Singapore instead of asking the Government not to allow us to do so. They should also allow us to stage more flights from different points in Malaysia to Singapore,” said Fernandes.
He was responding to a statement by MAS managing director Datuk Seri Idris Jala who said the national carrier was creating new demand from low fares, just like AirAsia.
He said MAS should work together with AirAsia instead of competing and accused the full service airline of “surrendering” to Singapore Airlines (SIA).
“MAS and AirAsia will go to war and the only beneficiary will be SIA,” said Fernandes.
“AirAsia and AirAsia X are doing more to bring in foreign tourists than MAS. Although we have only a flight a day to Australia (Gold Coast), we are spending A$350,000 in advertising compared to SIA’s A$1.2mil (RM3.6mil). I know MAS is spending a lot less.
“Our two airlines are dedicated to turn KLIA into a major Asian hub again. MAS should join us in this mission,” he added.
5.1.2008
Professor termuda di dunia
Baru-baru ini dunia dikejutkan dengan seorang rakyat Amerika berketurunan Iran, yang bernama Alia Sabur yang menjadi professor termuda di dunia iaitu pada usia 18 tahun 362 hari. Beliau telah memecah rekod yang dipegang oleh seorang bekas pelajar Issac Newton iaitu Colin Maclaurin yang menjadi Professor of Mathematics di Marischal College, Scotland pada 30 Sept 1717 ketika berumur 19 tahun.
Namun kita sendiri ada Adi Putra yang masuk UIA ketika berusia 7 tahun. Kalau kita boleh fokus Adi Putra, beliau boleh tamat PhD ketika berusia 15 tahun dan boleh terus dilantik professor ketika berusia 17 tahun.
Biografi Alia Sabur dari wikipedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alia_Sabur
Alia Sabur (born February 22, 1989 in New York City, New York) is an Iranian scientist, who is currently the world's youngest professor.
Sabur became known after being accepted into graduate school at the age of 14. She had left public school in 4th grade, was admitted to State University of New York at Stony Brook at the age of 10 and graduated summa cum laude at 14. She also received a black belt in Tae Kwon Do at the age of 9.
After Stony Brook, Sabur attended Drexel University where she received her M.S. in 2006 and is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Materials Science and Engineering (a position she terms "All But Dissertation"). In 2007 she took a temporary position at Southern University in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, saying "It is the only university that is still operating out of trailers... the only black public college in New Orleans. I do think that is why it is not as far along as other colleges." She has been hired as a professor of physics in the Department of Advanced Technology Fusion at Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea. On 19 February 2008, the Guinness Book of World Records named Alia the World's Youngest Professor, a designation held by mathematician Colin Maclaurin since 1717.
4.29.2008
Ujikaji yang bernilai US 6 Billion
Sekarang di Eropah, sibuk diperkatakan berkenaan satu projek gergasi ini. Terdapat satu projek untuk penyelidikan yang bernilai antara US 5 hingga US 10 billion yang sedang hampir siap disempadan Swiss dan France. Projek tersebut untuk mengkaji misteri alam ini yang berkaitan dengan teori black hole. Saya tak mahu komen apa yang cuba dipelajari oleh saintis-saintis di barat ini. Cuma saya agak terkejut dengan komitment mereka untuk membelanjakan wang sejumlah itu untuk tujuan penyelidikan ini. Webpage projek tersebut ada di sini.
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a particle accelerator located at CERN, near Geneva, Switzerland. It lies in a tunnel under France and Switzerland.
It is currently in the final stages of construction, and commissioning, with some sections already being cooled down to their final operating temperature of ~2K. The first beams are due for injection mid June 2008 with the first collisions planned to take place 2 months later. The LHC will become the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator.The LHC is being funded and built in collaboration with over two thousand physicists from thirty-four countries as well as hundreds of universities and laboratories.
When activated, it is theorized that the collider will produce the elusive Higgs boson, the observation of which could confirm the predictions and "missing links" in the Standard Model of physics and could explain how other elementary particles acquire properties such as mass.The verification of the existence of the Higgs boson would be a significant step in the search for a Grand Unified Theory, which seeks to unify the three fundamental forces: electromagnetism, the strong nuclear force and the weak nuclear force. The Higgs boson may also help to explain why gravitation is so weak compared to the other three forces. In addition to the Higgs boson, other theorized novel particles that might be produced, and for which searches are planned, include strangelets, micro black holes, magnetic monopoles and supersymmetric particles.
4.27.2008
Universiti Sains Angkasa Lepas??
Dalam utusan hari terdapat berita berkenaan penubuhan Universiti Sains Angkasa Lepas di Johor. Pandangan pribadi saya adalah lebih baik kita sediakan peluang perkerjaan kepada graduan dalam bidang aerospace di Malaysia dulu sebelum kita menubuhkan universiti ini. Kita tidak mahu graduan dalam bidang ini jadi penganggur atau tidak dapat jadi apa yang sepatutnya mereka jadi. Bahkan satu kajin terperinci perlu dilakukan terlebih dahulu sebelum universiti tersebut ditubuhkan.
Universiti Sains Angkasa Lepas bakal dibina di Johor
JOHOR BAHRU 27 April – Sebuah syarikat tempatan bersama rakan kongsi luar negara bercadang menubuhkan sebuah universiti bernilai RM6.1 bilion yang mengkhusus pengajian sains angkasa lepas.
Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Next Systems Sdn. Bhd., Noor Faizal Abdul Samad berkata, cadangan penubuhan universiti itu, yang masih di peringkat perbincangan dengan rakan kongsi luar negara, akan dikemukakan kepada kerajaan setelah segala perancangan selesai.
Katanya, sebuah kawasan seluas 1,000 hektar di Kota Tinggi telah dikenal pasti untuk pembinaan universiti yang akan dikenali sebagai Universiti Sains Angkasa Lepas Malaysia (UniSam).
“Jika cadangan terhadap penubuhan UniSam itu diterima, Malaysia akan muncul sebagai negara ketiga di dunia yang mempunyai universiti sains angkasa lepas selepas Embry Riddle Aeronautical University di Florida dan International Space University, Strasbourg, Perancis,” katanya kepada Bernama dalam satu temuramah eksklusif di sini, baru-baru ini.
Noor Faizal berkata, penubuhan universiti bertujuan mengembalikan era kegemilangan Islam di dalam bidang sains angkasa lepas seperti astronomi dan lain-lain.
Sains angkasa lepas, katanya, tidak hanya berkait dengan perkara-perkara di angkasa lepas tetapi turut merangkumi pelbagai perkara serta teknologi yang kini digunakan dengan meluas oleh manusia di bumi.
Beliau memberikan contoh mudah iaitu bateri “Lithium” yang menurutnya adalah satu teknologi yang tercipta hasil kajian pihak berkuasa angkasa lepas Amerika Syarikat, NASA, ketika di angkasa lepas.
“Teknologi sains angkasa lepas itu amat penting kerana ia telah berkembang kepada teknologi-teknologi lain yang memberikan faedah kepada manusia. UniSam yang akan berteraskan kepada kajian akan membantu kita meneroka teknologi-teknologi ini,” katanya.
Noor Faizal berkata, UniSam akan mempunyai lapan fakulti meliputi bidang-bidang kritikal di dalam kajian sains angkasa lepas seperti Kejuruteraan Angkasa Lepas dan Aeronautik, Kejuruteraan Mekanikal, Kejuruteraan Biologi, Bio Molekular dan Perubatan.
Bidang-bidang lain termasuklah Kejuruteraan Kimia dan Bio Kimia, Kejuruteraan Komputer, Robotik dan Perisian, Kejuruteraan Elektrikal dan Elektronik, Kejuruteraan Geologi, Atmosferik dan Planetari dan Kejuruteraan Matematik, Fizik dan Astronomi.
Beliau berkata, pihaknya bercadang menarik saintis-saintis sains angkasa lepas Islam yang terkenal di dunia seperti Prof. Ahmed Zemail, Prof. Ibrahim Semiz dan beberapa saintis terkenal untuk berkhidmat di UniSam.
Fakulti-fakulti terbabit, katanya, akan mempunyai 29 buah makmal yang dilengkapi dengan peralatan paling moden di Malaysia dan rantau bagi membolehkan projek-projek penyelidikan penuntutnya.
Di antara peralatan-peralatan yang dicadangkan untuk dibina di UniSam merupakan teknologi-teknologi ulung seperti Fusion Reactor atau Thermonuclear Reactor, Linear Collider, Large Binocular Telescope-Neural Network Telescope, High Performance Computing (HPC), Supersonic Wind Tunnel dan makmal simulasi 3D.
Nor Faizal berkata, pembinaan makmal dan peralatan berteknologi canggih di UniSam serta kehadiran saintis sains angkasa lepas terkemuka antarabangsa akan menjadikan universiti berkenaan sebagai pusat rujukan kepada saintis dalam dan luar negara.
“Ini akan menjadikan Malaysia sebagai pusat rujukan kepada kajian sains angkasa lepas,” katanya, sambil menambah kata bahawa, sebuah kolej universiti juga dicadang dibina untuk pelajar-pelajar peringkat menengah rendah, bertujuan mempersiapkan mereka sebelum memasuki UniSam.
