Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX)

♦ The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched "Space Docking Experiment" (SpaDeX) at 10 pm from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR in Sriharikota on 30 December 2024. The mission was carried out using the PSLV-C60 rocket.

♦ The SpaDeX mission aims to achieve the challenging task of docking two satellites in space. This cost-effective technology demonstration will test and validate in-space docking capabilities using two small spacecraft, SDX01 and SDX02. These technologies are critical for future missions, including Chandrayaan-4, the Indian space station, and the manned Gaganyaan mission.

♦ With this success, India became the fourth country in the world with space docking technology – after Russia (the former USSR), the US and China.

Parker Solar Probe

♦ NASA's Parker Solar Probe made its record-setting close approach of just 6.1 million kilometers (3.8 million miles) from the solar surface on 24 December 2024.

♦ NASA confirmed on December 27 that its Parker Solar Probe is “safe” after becoming the first human-made object in history to fly dangerously close to the Sun.

♦ Parker Solar Probe was traveling at a staggering speed of approximately 700,000 kilometers per hour (430,000 miles per hour), making it the fastest human-made object in history. 

♦ Parker Solar Probe was launched in 2018. The probe has completed 21 close approaches to the Sun so far, with the most recent perihelion occurring on 30 September 2024.

♦ Additionally, the spacecraft used Venus’ gravity to refine its trajectory for the close solar flybys.

♦ On November 6, Parker executed its seventh and final gravity-assist maneuver, passing just 387 kilometers above Venus’ surface to set up its record-breaking solar approach.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

♦ The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have signed an agreement to collaborate on activities related to astronaut training, mission implementation, and research experiments.

♦ The agreement was signed by ISRO Chairman S. Somanath and Dr Josef Aschbacher, Director General of ESA.

♦ The agreement establishes a framework for cooperative activities in human space exploration and research, focusing on astronaut training, support for experiment development and integration (including the use of ESA facilities on the International Space Station), human and biomedical research experiments, as well as joint educational and outreach initiatives.

K9 VAJRA-T

♦ The Ministry of Defence has signed a contract worth Rs.7,629 crore with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for the procurement of K9 VAJRA-T Self-Propelled Tracked Artillery Guns for the Indian Army.

♦ The contract was signed by senior officials of the Ministry and representatives of L&T in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh in New Delhi on 20 December 2024.

♦ The procurement of the latest batch of K9 Vajra-T guns will "catalyse artillery modernisation" and "enhance the Indian Army's overall operational readiness.

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL)

♦ The Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) has delivered two Capital warships, Nilgiri and Surat to the Indian Navy on 20 December 2024.  

♦ Nilgiri is the First Stealth Frigate of Project 17A Class Ship while Surat is the Fourth Stealth Destroyer of Project 15B Class Guided Missile Destroyer. 

♦ Both warships have been designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau, constructed by MDL and overseen by the Warship Overseeing Team, Mumbai.

♦ Nilgiri is the First of Class (FoC) ship of Project 17A. The Ship features cutting-edge advanced technology and is comparable to the finest ships of similar class anywhere in the world.

♦ Surat is a potent platform capable of undertaking a variety of tasks and missions, spanning the full spectrum of maritime warfare. The indigenous content in P15B class destroyers is 72 percent.

Smallest walking robot

♦ Cornell University researchers (America) in physics and engineering have developed the tiniest walking robot ever.

♦ Designed to interact with visible light waves and move on its own, it can navigate to precise locations, like within a tissue sample.

♦ This tiny robot can then capture images and measure forces at the scale of the body's smallest structures.

♦ Cornell scientists already hold the world record for the smallest walking robot at 40-70 microns, and have now developed even tinier diffractive robots measuring just 5 to 2 microns. 

♦ The robots, controlled by magnets in a pinching motion, can move like inchworms on solid surfaces and swim through fluids.

♦ This combination of manoeuvrability, flexibility, and sub-diffractive optical technology represents a major advancement in robotics, according to the researchers.

PSLV C-59

♦ ISRO successfully launched the PSLV C-59 launch vehicle carrying Proba-3 spacecraft into a highly elliptical orbit at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on 5 December 2024.

♦ Proba-3 is designed to study the sun, as part of a multi-satellite mission made up of two small satellites launched together as a single unit in an elliptical orbit.

♦ Proba 3 is the second satellite of the European Space Agency to be launched by the Indian rocket.

♦ The mission is a commercial collaboration between European Space Agency (ESA) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) via NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL).

Nagastra-1 Drones

♦ The Indian Army has received 480 Nagastra-1 drones, developed by Solar Industries in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

♦ These are manufactured with over 75 percent indigenous content. The system is man-portable, and light and is intended to be used for precision strike capabilities by the Army troops.

♦ An operator can control it for up to a distance of 15 km. It can fly up to a distance of 45 km and land hit a fixed target whose grid coordinates have been fed to the drone; in this mode, GPS guides it, and it will hit within 2 km of its target.