15 May 2016 Current Affairs
Max Verstappen Becomes Youngest Formula 1 Winner
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen from Netherlands became the youngest winner in F1 history as he won the Spanish F1 title at Barcelona on 15 May 2016. He was able to win the Spanish Grand Prix by maintaining lead position after Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Roseberg crashed into each other in the 1st lap of race.
India Successfully Test-Fires Advanced Interceptor Missile
Indigenously developed Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor missile, Ashwin was successfully test fired on 15 May 2016. It was launched from the complex of Abdul Kalam Island (formerly known as Wheeler Island) off Odisha coast. The test was the twelfth test of interceptor missiles fired from a warship in the Bay of Bengal. Of the 11 tests held earlier, 9 were successful. The advanced version of low altitude supersonic ballistic interceptor missile was fired at a ballistic missile, a modified version of Prithvi weapon system. It was test fired to validate various parameters of the interceptor in flight mode. Ashwin is capable of destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile. Indigenously developed by DRDO, the ADD interceptor missile is a 7.5-meter long single-stage solid rocket propelled guided missile equipped with a navigation system, a hi-tech computer and an electro-mechanical activator. It weighs around 1.2 tonnes and has a diameter of less than 0.5 meter.
China Launches Yaogan-30 Remote Sensing Satellite
China has successfully launched Yaogan-30 remote-sensing satellite into sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) using the Long March-2D rocket. The rocket was launched on 15 May from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center located in Gobi desert in northwest China’s Gansu Province. It was the 227th flight of the Long March rocket series and was also the second orbital launch from the Jiuquan Satellite launch Center in 2016. The Yaogan-30 satellite was built by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST). It is part of second generation of the Yaogan series inaugurated in 2008. The first Yaogan satellite was launched in 2006.
International Day of Families Observed On 15 May
International Day of Families was observed on 15 May 2016 with theme ‘Families, healthy lives and sustainable future’. The day provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues related to families and to increase knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families. It highlights different areas of interest and importance of families. The Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 and reflects the importance the international community attaches to families. On this day, a series of awareness-raising events like and conferences, radio and television programmes, newspaper articles and cultural programmes related to theme is held in different part of the world.