CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -The secretive X-37B space plane has beaten its previous flight duration record by staying in orbit for 908 days before landing.

Detailed explanation-2: -This small satellite carried five experimental payloads and is still in orbit now. It hosted the Naval Research Laboratory’s photovoltaic radiofrequency antenna module as well, which is designed to convert solar rays into microwave energy and “transmit power to the ground.”

Detailed explanation-3: -The module was ejected from the spacecraft before re-entry and is still in orbit, but Space Force was keen to emphasize that it will eventually be disposed of safely, in an effort to ensure the responsible prevention of unnecessary space junk. The X-37B before launch in May 2020.

Detailed explanation-4: -X-37B spaceplane completes its sixth mission, lands after nearly 30 months in orbit. WASHINGTON - The X-37B spaceplane landed Nov. 12 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 5:22 a.m. Eastern, setting a new endurance record after spending 908 days on orbit.

Detailed explanation-5: -Subsequent flights gradually extended the mission duration, reaching 780 days in orbit for the fifth mission, the first to launch on a Falcon 9 rocket. The latest mission, the sixth, launched on an Atlas V on 17 May 2020 and concluded on 12 November 2022, reaching a total of 908 days in orbit.