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Space start-up Skyroot Aerospace on Tuesday unveiled its indigenously built Vikram-1 rocket which is expected to deliver satellites to low earth orbit early next year. 

Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh also inaugurated ‘The MAX-Q Campus’, the new headquarters of the start-up at the GMR Aerospace and Industrial Park at Mamidipally in South Hyderabad.

Singh toured the Skyroot headquarters spread across 60,000sqft and billed as the country’s largest private rocket development facility under one roof.

Vikram-1 is a multi-stage launch vehicle with a capacity to place around 300 kg payloads in Low Earth Orbit. It is an all-carbon-fibre-bodied rocket that can place multiple satellites into orbit and features 3D-printed liquid engines. Planned to be launched in early 2024, Vikram-I will be Skyroot’s second rocket, after the successful launch of the Vikram-S rocket on November 18 last year.

Skyroot’s new headquarters houses integrated design, manufacturing and testing facilities for building space launch vehicles, and design space for the 300-member strong workforce. “Every rocket, during its travel to space, has to push through a point of maximum stress called ‘Max-Q’. Our MAX-Q headquarters serves as a powerful symbol of our unwavering commitment to pushing boundaries and accomplishing the extraordinary, all in pursuit of our mission to Open Space For All,” Pawan Chandana, co-founder and CEO of Skyroot Aerospace said.

“Skyroot is not only an example of India’s superlative talent and scientific acumen but it also has a message for all of us that a huge potential was lying dormant for several decades before Prime Minister Narendra Modi came and broke the taboos of the past and opened India’s Space Sector for Public Private Partnership (PPP),” Singh said. The unveiling of Vikram-1 space launch vehicle on the same day as the company’s new headquarters inauguration is a moment of great pride, said Bharath Daka, Co-Founder and COO of Skyroot.

“Our design prowess and cutting-edge home-grown technology have been integral to the creation of Vikram-1. As we eagerly prepare for the early 2024 launch, we will keep sharing further updates on the orbital mission with Vikram-1,” Daka said.


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Musk’s Neuralink Will Test Brain Chips in Clinical Study in Great Britain

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Musk's Neuralink Will Test Brain Chips in Clinical Study in Great Britain

Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink said on Thursday it will launch a clinical study in Great Britain to test how its chips can enable patients with severe paralysis to control digital and physical tools with their thoughts.

The company is partnering with the University College London Hospitals trust and Newcastle Hospitals to conduct the study, it said in a post on X.

Neuralink said patients living with paralysis due to conditions such as spinal cord injury and a nervous system disease called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) qualify to participate in the study.

The company raised $650 million (roughly Rs. 5,676 crore) in its latest funding round last month. It began human trials in 2024 on its brain implant after resolving safety concerns flagged by the US Food and Drug Administration, which had initially rejected Neuralink’s application in 2022.

According to the company, five patients with severe paralysis are currently using its device to control digital and physical tools with their thoughts.

Neuralink, founded in 2016, has raised about $1.3 billion (roughly Rs. 11,360 crore) from investors and is valued at roughly $9 billion (roughly Rs. 78,714 crore), according to media reports, citing PitchBook.

© Thomson Reuters 2025

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MIT Just Proved Einstein Wrong in the Famous Double-Slit Quantum Experiment

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MIT Just Proved Einstein Wrong in the Famous Double-Slit Quantum Experiment

Physicists at MIT conducted a precise version of the renowned double slit quantum experiment, which challenges Einstein’s objections to quantum mechanics. With the help of ultracold atoms and single photons, they have shown the reaction of the long-standing wave-particle duality discussion without traditional spring setups. The researchers ignored the classical apparatus components and allowed nature’s inherent uncertainty to unleash Bohr’s complementarity, as both wave and particle-like behaviour cannot be observed simultaneously. The finding matches the quantum theory and disagrees with Einstein’s local realistic expectations.

MIT’s Quantum Experiment Challenges Einstein’s Classical View

As per Sci Tech Daily, Einstein argued for the deterministic reality, and claimed that the particles must be definite properties irrespective of the observation and that nothing could travel faster than light. With the Copenhagen interpretation, Bohr held the views which posit that only measurement defines the physical reality, along with complementary properties such as wave and particle behaviour, which are exclusive. The result of MIT supports this interpretation by Bohr.

With the removal of spring elements and the intrinsic quantum uncertain reliability of the ultracold atoms, MIT has sidestepped classical interference artefacts. Through this design, the experiment cleanly isolates the quantum effects and makes the result more robust and vague. Their behaviour demonstrates the dual nature when the individual photons pass through this experiment.

Bohr’s Complementarity Confirmed: Nature Obeys Quantum Rules

The findings through this experiment not only give the mechanical predictions and however, but also reinforce the significance of the theorem by Bell. Experiments done by Delft and Aspect have questioned the inequabilities under restricted conditions, strongly discrediting the hidden variable arguments of Einstein.

In a nutshell, MIT’s ultra double-slit experiment provides compelling evidence against the local realism of Einstein but in favour of the indeterminacy of quantum. Through the demonstration of the complementarity of the minimal classical interference, it is clear that the experiment underscores that nature follows the rules of quantum mechanics.

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PSR J0922+0638 Pulsar Keeps Glitching Every 550 Days, Scientists Are Intrigued

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PSR J0922+0638 Pulsar Keeps Glitching Every 550 Days, Scientists Are Intrigued

PSR J0922+0638 is one of the pulsars, which are typically ultradense remains of a massive star that exploded as a supernova. These are quite compact and lie a few miles away; however, they carry more weight than several other suns. Their density infers that the internal matter is packed tightly, and the borders diverge toward the black hole. However, the collapse of these stars is prevented due to the pressure from the quantum forces. Neutrons and protons smash together at the time of extreme densities, and then they create a single gigantic atomic nucleus. However, the core of the neutron stars is still a mystery.

Unraveling the Structure and Rotation of PSR J0922+0638

As per space report, these dense stars act as giant atomic nuclei together with the neutrons and protons pulled together under the gravity. One of the behaviours of pulsars is their rotation, which is stable. For example, PSR J0922+0638 rotates after every 0.43063, and this continues for thousands of years.

Astronomers studied the data from over 22 years to further understand the stability. The data was collected from South Africa’s MeerKAT array and China’s Nanshan Radio Telescope array. Although the changes were minuscule, even less than a billionth, the stars show an energy shift because of the intense physical forces. The scientists found a dozen glitches that we call a little change in the rate of rotation. The glitches followed a cycle in which rotation repeats after every 550 days.

Glitches, Magnetic Cycles, and the Mystery Within Pulsars

Furthermore, due to sudden glitches, a slow and cyclic speeding up and slowing down of the spin of the pulsar was seen during a 500-600-day period. This behaviour made the scientists question the glitches and the time variations of the pulsar, with the unawareness of the exact cause.

The theories put forward by the scientists comprise the magnetic cycle, which is similar to the movement of the superfluid in the star or the sun. Even after these theories, the internal mechanics of a pulsar are speculative. Further, long-term observations are important to know these secrets.

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