General Awareness

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - July 2022

Jul 2022

Mar 27, 2025

SpaceX Successfully Launches Secret US Spy Satellite for NRO

SpaceX marked a significant milestone by launching a classified spy satellite for the United States on the 19th anniversary of its first-ever liftoff. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, successfully launching the NROL-69 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). This launch followed the company's early struggles with its first Falcon 1 rocket in 2006, which failed on its first three attempts.
The NROL-69 mission is part of the NRO's strategy to develop a "proliferated architecture" for its satellite network. This architecture involves deploying a larger number of smaller, cost-effective satellites to enhance resilience and responsiveness in reconnaissance operations.

Mar 21, 2025

ISRO Develops High-Speed Microprocessors: Vikram 3201 and Kalpana 3201

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), in collaboration with the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) in Chandigarh, developed two advanced 32-bit microprocessors, Vikram 3201 and Kalpana 3201. These processors are specifically designed for space applications and mark a major milestone in India's efforts to achieve self-reliance in high-performance computing for launch vehicles.
Vikram 3201
India's first fully indigenous 32-bit microprocessor qualified for space missions
Processes 32-bit data at a time, enabling efficient computations
Supports floating-point arithmetic, improving performance in complex calculations
Backward compatible with Vikram 1601, which has been in use since 2009
Fabricated at SCL's 180nm CMOS semiconductor fab, reinforcing the Make in India initiative
Successfully validated in space during the PSLV-C60 mission
Kalpana 3201
A 32-bit SPARC V8 RISC microprocessor, based on IEEE 1754 Instruction Set Architecture
Compatible with open-source software toolsets
Tested with flight software, making it versatile for various space applications
Designed for efficiency and high-speed processing, with an emphasis on simple instructions

Mar 19, 2025

Sunita Williams' Return to Earth

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams safely returned to Earth on March 18, 2025 (March 19 in India) after spending over nine months in space due to delays in the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission. Their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, Freedom, splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Tallahassee, Florida, concluding a mission that garnered global attention.

Mar 18, 2025

Sunita Williams Spacex Crew-9 Return

After a prolonged nine-month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS), NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore are finally embarking on their return journey. Their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft successfully undocked on Wednesday, initiating a 17-hour voyage back to Earth. The astronaut crew will travel back to Earth alongside Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.
Wilmore and Williams have been stranded on the ISS for nine months after reaching there in June last year. They were supposed to stay there for about a week. The astronauts were transported from Earth to the ISS aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft.

Mar 17, 2025

Centre Approves Chandrayaan-5 Mission

India's space ambitions reached new heights with the approval of the Chandrayaan-5 mission, announced by ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan. This mission will be executed in collaboration with Japan and aims to conduct an advanced study of the Moon's surface. Unlike Chandrayaan-3, which carried the 25 kg rover 'Pragyan', Chandrayaan-5 will deploy a heavier 250 kg rover, enhancing India's lunar exploration capabilities.

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