Published 23:53 IST, December 29th 2024 ISRO's Space Docking Experiment onboard a PSLV rocket that would be a key milestone in India's space programme will begin on Monday Sriharikota: The countdown for ISRO's Space Docking Experiment onboard a PSLV rocket on Monday that would be a key milestone in India's space programme, commenced on Sunday evening, the space agency said. A cost-effective technology demonstrator mission for in-space docking, it would make India join an elite list featuring China, Russia and the US. ISRO has scheduled the lift-off of the PSLV-C60 rocket, at 9.58 pm from the first launch pad at this spaceport here on December 30 and it would carry SpaDeX with two spacecraft as the primary payloads along with 24 secondary payloads. "PSLV-C60/SpaDeX Mission Launch countdown commenced at 9 pm" on Sunday, an ISRO official told PTI. The in-space docking technology would be essential for taking up India's ambitions in space including sending human to the Moon, bringing samples from there, and also building and operating India's own space station- Bharatiya Antariksh Station. The docking technology would also be utilised when multiple rocket launches are planned to achieve common mission objectives. ISRO said the two spacecraft in the PSLV rocket-- Spacecraft A (SDX01) and Spacecraft B (SDX02) would be placed in an orbit that would keep them 5 km apart from each other. Later, scientists at ISRO headquarters would try to bring them closer up to 3 metre which would subsequently lead them for merging together at an altitude of about 470km above Earth. The process is expected to take place about 10-14 days after the scheduled lift-off on Monday, ISRO officials said. In the SpaDeX mission, Spacecraft A carries a High Resolution Camera, while Spacecraft B has Miniature Multispectral Payload and a Radiation Monitor Payload. These payloads would provide high resolution images, natural resource monitoring, vegetation studies among others. Apart from this significant mission, scientists would also conduct the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-4 (POEM-4) in which 24 payloads--14 from ISRO and 10 from industry and academia, would be placed in the desired orbits one after the other over a 90 minute period after the lift-off. The life of the payloads in the fourth stage would be about three to four months. The vehicle for the PSLV-C60 mission used here would be the 18th Core-Alone variant. This would be ISRO's last mission in 2024 and the PSLV-C60 is the first vehicle to be integrated upto the fourth stage at the PSLV Integration Facility that has been established here. Updated 23:53 IST, December 29th 2024

NoneVegas Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin will make his 700 th career NHL game when he takes the ice against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday at Wells Fargo Center. Hanifin, in his first full season with the Golden Knights, scored 65 goals with 232 assists in his 10 NHL seasons. “He’s calm out there. He’s got good composure. He doesn’t get rattled and plays a lot of minutes for us. Plays in all situations. I think he knows what he is,’ Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “He’s a guy that can really use his feet to help him in many areas of the game. ... He wants to initiate. I like that about Noah. Every play, he wants to be involved. He wants to make something happen. You got to be careful with that when your feet are that good that you don’t chase the game. He’s done a good job letting the game come to him most nights.” About the Flyers The Flyers come into the game off a 3-2 overtime victory on Nov. 23 against the Chicago Blackhawks. Philadelphia is 9-10-2 on the season. “They’re more grinder [team]. They work really hard,” Golden Knights forward Tomas Hertl said. “They don’t leave any pucks behind. It’ll definitely be a tough game. They’re more straightforward: forecheck hard and grind it.” The Flyers are a gritty team that will attempt to clog the shooting lanes and block shots. Cassidy said the team has to be aware of this and not get frustrated when shots are going through. “They’re a hard-working team. They’re a team that works hard to block shots. The preparation today is you got to create your shooting lanes,” Cassidy said. “You got to hang around the front of the net. There are going to be opportunities. You’re going to get frustrated because they do a good job.” Paul Delos Santos is the Las Vegas sports insider for Dice City Sports. Follow him on X at @PaulDelos_ . This article first appeared on Dice City Sports and was syndicated with permission.-- Shares Facebook Twitter Reddit Email The Texas State Board of Education approved a new curriculum that will incorporate stories from the Bible into elementary school education. In an eight-to-seven vote on Tuesday , the board approved the state-written “Bluebonnet” curriculum, which infuses Bible stories into language arts materials for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. All four Democrats on the board were joined by three Republicans in voting unsuccessfully against the curriculum. Texas schools will have the option to pick the curriculum in the coming school year, which critics argue violates First Amendment protections against a state establishment of religion. School districts that adopt the Bible-based curriculum will qualify for extra funding of up to $40 per student per year as a result of a 2023 state law incentivizing the use of material approved by the state board. Related Texas school board GOP hardliner rejects her party's extremism after actually reading the curriculum Governor Greg Abbott installed a Republican to the board ahead of the vote. That seat is due to be filled by Democrat Tiffany Clark in January. Clark ran unopposed for the seat that was vacated by Democrat Aicha Davis. Appointee Leslie Recine was the deciding vote in the approval of the curriculum. A prominent teachers’ union in the state said the material approved by the “last-minute political appointee” violated the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. “At a moment of profound political division, this curriculum is a concerted effort to 'other' and exclude students of differing cultures and religions through state-sponsored instructional materials,” the American Federation of Teachers' Texas chapter shared in a statement . “It is the latest evidence that Christian nationalists have bought their way into every governing body of the state, including the SBOE.” Proponents of the curriculum argue that the religious passages provide important context for American history. Those boosters include Gov. Abbott , who earlier this year claimed that Bluebonnet would allow “students to better understand the connection of history, art, community, literature and religion on pivotal events.” Similar arguments have been employed in Oklahoma, a laboratory of ideas for desecularizing public schools . Superintendent Ryan Walters has ordered state schools to teach the Bible and recently went on an oddly specific hunt to find Trump-endorsed Bibles . Read more about Christianity Oklahoma's education department seemingly wants to buy 55,000 Trump Bibles Prof: GOP seizes on SCOTUS' "very accommodating view of intrusion" of Christianity in public spaces Former far-right GOPer: Billionaires using school board races to sow distrust in public education MORE FROM Griffin Eckstein Advertisement:

'Democracy and freedom': Jimmy Carter's human rights efforts in Latin AmericaLOS ANGELES (AP) — The Biden administration plans on reducing part of Intel's $8.5 billion in federal funding for computer chip plants around the country, according to three people familiar with the grant who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. The reduction is largely a byproduct of the $3 billion that Intel is also receiving to provide computer chips to the military. President Joe Biden announced the agreement to provide Intel with up to $8.5 billion in direct funding and $11 billion in loans in March. The changes to Intel’s funding are not related to the company’s financial record or milestones, the people familiar with the grant told The Associated Press. In August, the chipmaker announced that it would cut 15% of its workforce — about 15,000 jobs — in an attempt to turn its business around to compete with more successful rivals like Nvidia and AMD. Unlike some of its rivals, Intel manufactures chips in addition to designing them. Two years ago, President Biden hailed Intel as a job creator with its plans to open a new plant near Columbus, Ohio. The president praised the company for plans to “build a workforce of the future” for the $20 billion project, which he said would generate 7,000 construction jobs and 3,000 full-time jobs set to pay an average of $135,000 a year. The California-based tech giant's funding is tied to a sweeping 2022 law that President Biden has celebrated and which is designed to revive U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. Known as the CHIPS and Science Act , the $280 billion package is aimed at sharpening the U.S. edge in military technology and manufacturing while minimizing the kinds of supply disruptions that occurred in 2021, after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, when a shortage of chips stalled factory assembly lines and fueled inflation . The Biden administration helped shepherd the legislation following pandemic-era concerns that the loss of access to chips made in Asia could plunge the U.S. economy into recession. When pushing for the investment, lawmakers expressed concern about efforts by China to control Taiwan, which accounts for more than 90% of advanced computer chip production. In August, the administration pledged to provide up to $6.6 billion so that a Taiwanese semiconductor giant could expand the facilities it is already building in Arizona and better ensure that the most advanced microchips are produced domestically for the first time. The Commerce Department said the funding for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. meant the company could expand on its existing plans for two facilities in Phoenix and add a third, newly announced production hub. The administration has promised tens of billions of dollars to support construction of U.S. chip foundries and reduce reliance on Asian suppliers, which Washington sees as a security weakness. Boak reported from Washington.

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ORONO, Maine (AP) — Michael McNair scored 16 points to lead Boston University and Malcolm Chimezie sealed the victory with a layup with 20 seconds left as the Terriers took down Maine 59-56 on Sunday. McNair also had six rebounds for the Terriers (6-7). Kyrone Alexander scored 13 points and added five rebounds. Chimezie shot 4 of 7 from the field and 0 for 3 from the line to finish with eight points. Kellen Tynes led the way for the Black Bears (8-7) with 17 points, four assists and three steals. Maine also got 12 points from Christopher Mantis. Quion Burns had eight points. McNair scored seven points in the first half and Boston University went into halftime trailing 27-19. Alexander scored a team-high 10 points for Boston University in the second half. Boston University outscored Maine by 11 points over the final half. Boston University's next game is Thursday against Lafayette on the road, and Maine visits Bryant on Saturday. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .None

War is often less seen than heard, and as a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel came into effect on Wednesday morning, Ibrahim Najdi marveled at the absence of one particular sound: the buzz of Israeli drones that had been a near-constant presence in Beirut over the last few months. "You can't hear them, can you? They're gone," he said. He gave a small smile, then picked his way through the mounds of rubble separating him from the remains of his two warehouses. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers, accused of domestic violence, cleared to practice and play

The Atlanta Braves were hard at work over the last five years, locking in as many of their homegrown stars as they could to long-term extensions. Unfortunately, there was one notable omission. Two-time All-Star starting pitcher Max Fried has spent his entire eight-year career in Atlanta, but recently hit free agency and declined the Braves' $21 million qualifying offer. And because their rotation is so deep behind him, Atlanta may be inclined to let Fried walk. Though the Braves are by no means a cheap organization, they've never been one for spending big on free-agent starting pitchers. They've got a solid crop of starters in-house, but one team that does not could be a solid bet to pick up Fried--the Baltimore Orioles. Tom Ruminski of The Score predicted recently that the Orioles would sign Fried after their own All-Star hurler, Corbin Burnes, signed elsewhere this winter. "The Orioles badly need to add a No. 1 starter with Burnes departing via free agency. With Kyle Bradish, who finished fourth in 2023 AL Cy Young voting, likely not returning until the end of next season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in June, enter Max Fried," Ruminski said. "The two-time All-Star has posted a 2.87 ERA since 2021. Fried slots ahead of Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez to give Baltimore a solid top of the rotation to compete in the tough AL East." No team wants to lose a pitcher like Fried, who has three Gold Gloves, six career complete games, and a World Series ring to his name. But the Braves are better equipped to handle such a departure than most. If Baltimore is Fried's next destination, the Braves could take solace in the fact that he wouldn't face them until the World Series. Next, they'd have to determine who gets his spot in their 2025 rotation. More MLB: Proposed Phillies-Blue Jays blockbuster ships embattled $8M All-Star to Toronto

Bartlomiej Wroblewski/iStock via Getty Images Shares of Quantum Computing ( NASDAQ: QUBT ) surged about 13% on Monday, continuing its rally following a photonic chip order last week, and amid Amazon Web Services ( AMZN ) launching the Quantum Embark program. The Hoboken, N.J.-based company's stock saw sharp movement last week. On Monday, the shares fell about