The world’s most powerful supercomputer, El Capitan, has been officially launched at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California. Built at a cost of $600 million, the system has been designed to manage highly classified national security tasks. The primary objective of the supercomputer is to ensure the security and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile in the absence of underground testing, which has been prohibited since 1992. Research in high-energy-density physics, material discovery, nuclear data analysis, and weapons design will be conducted, along with other classified operations.

Performance and Capabilities

According to reports, El Capitan became the fastest supercomputer globally after achieving 1.742 exaFLOPS in the High-Performance Linpack (HPL) benchmark. The system has a peak performance of 2.746 exaFLOPS, making it the third machine ever to reach exascale computing speeds. The measurement, taken in floating-point operations per second (FLOPS), represents the ability of the supercomputer to perform one quintillion (10^18) calculations per second.

As reported by space.com, the second-fastest supercomputer, Frontier, located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Illinois, has recorded a standard performance of 1.353 exaFLOPS, with a peak of 2.056 exaFLOPS. El Capitan’s significant advancement marks a leap in computational capabilities within high-performance computing.

Technical Specifications

As reported by The Next Platform, El Capitan is powered by over 11 million processing and graphics cores distributed across 44,544 AMD MI300A accelerated processing units. These units incorporate AMD EPYC Genoa CPUs, AMD CDNA3 GPUs, and shared computing memory. Each processing unit includes 128 gigabytes of high-bandwidth memory, designed to optimise computational efficiency while minimising power consumption.

Development and Commissioning

Reports indicate that construction of El Capitan began in May 2023, with the system going online in November 2024. The official dedication took place on January 9, 2025. The supercomputer was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy’s CORAL-2 program as a successor to the Sierra supercomputer, which was deployed in 2018 and currently ranks 14th in the latest Top500 list of most powerful supercomputers.

With El Capitan’s full-scale deployment, advancements in national security research and computational science are expected to reach unprecedented levels.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has dismissed reports suggesting issues in its maiden space docking mission, SpaDeX. On February 8, ISRO Chairman and Secretary, Department of Space, V Narayanan, clarified that no technical faults had been encountered in the docking process. He stated that the mission was progressing systematically and that further experiments were planned. His remarks were made during the 15th Biennial Edition of the Aero India International Seminar in Bengaluru, scheduled from February 10 to 14. The docking of satellites under SpaDeX was carried out successfully on January 16, with post-docking control enabling the satellites to function as a single entity.

Successful Docking and Mission Details

As reported by The Indian Express, according to ISRO, SpaDeX achieved a significant milestone by docking two satellites in orbit, with docking precision confirmed through manoeuvres. The agency reported that post-docking stability was achieved, with the satellites operating as a unified structure. The mission also involved injecting the NVS-02 navigation satellite into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).

ISRO detailed the docking procedure, stating in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the satellites were manoeuvred from a 15-metre distance to a 3-metre hold point before initiating capture. The docking process was completed with retraction and rigidisation for structural stability. With this development, India became the fourth country globally to achieve space docking.

Challenges in Orbit Raising Operations

Despite the successful docking, ISRO issued an update on February 2 indicating that attempts to raise the satellite’s orbit had encountered difficulties. The agency explained that the oxidiser valves, crucial for thruster ignition, had failed to open, preventing orbital repositioning. The issue remains under analysis as ISRO assesses possible solutions.

The SpaDeX mission was launched on December 30, 2024, using the PSLV C60 rocket, which deployed two small satellites, SDX01 and SDX02, into a 475-kilometre orbit. The mission serves as a demonstration of in-space docking capabilities, aiming to advance cost-effective space technology for future applications.

Human remains discovered in a cave in Poland have provided evidence of cannibalism among ancient European groups, with bones showing distinct cut marks and fractures. The findings suggest that the bodies of the deceased were systematically butchered, with brains and other soft tissues extracted shortly after death. The remains, dating back 18,000 years, belong to at least ten individuals, including children, and indicate a practice linked to warfare rather than survival. Researchers have ruled out natural causes such as animal activity or accidental damage, highlighting that the modifications were intentional and systematic.

Evidence of Butchering Found on Bones

According to the study published in Scientific Reports, an analysis was conducted on 53 bones found at Maszycka Cave near Krakow, Poland. Using 3D microscopy, researchers identified cut marks on 68 percent of the remains, indicating scalping, defleshing, and the removal of ears and jaws.

The skulls showed fractures consistent with attempts to extract the brain, while additional marks on shoulder, arm, and leg bones suggested butchering for consumption. Study lead author Francesc Marginedas, a doctoral student at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES), told Live Science that the location and frequency of the cut marks and the intentional fracturing of the skeleton clearly show nutritional exploitation of the bodies.

Cannibalism Linked to Warfare, Not Famine

As per the findings, the Magdalenian period, which spanned from 23,000 to 11,000 years ago, saw an increase in human populations, making famine an unlikely reason for cannibalism. Palmira Saladié, a researcher at IPHES, told Live Science that in prehistoric contexts, it could be in response to survival needs or to ritual practices, or even to the dynamics of intergroup violence. However, no evidence of respectful burial was found, and the human remains were mixed with butchered animal bones, supporting the hypothesis of “warfare cannibalism.”

A Widespread Practice in the Magdalenian Period

The study suggests that the victims may have been part of a single family unit that was attacked, killed, and subsequently consumed. The pattern aligns with discoveries from other European sites of the same period, indicating that cannibalism was a significant cultural practice. Researchers believe territorial conflicts and competition for resources may have contributed to these acts, shaping interactions between different groups in prehistoric Europe.