Agni-4 Missile Test & Current Affairs

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Anil Menon Record Spacewalk | Agni 4 Missile Test & Current Affairs

8 August Current Affairs: Astronaut Anil Menon creates record with 7-hour spacewalk; ballistic missile Agni-4 successfully tested

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Today's important current affairs, which are essential for students preparing for government jobs…

INTERNATIONAL

1. Anil Menon and Jessica Meir conducted a space walk

On 7 August, Indian-origin astronaut Anil Menon completed his first spacewalk.

Meanwhile, Jessica Meir conducted a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS).

During this time, they assembled a modification kit for the station's power channel, which has paved the way for installing solar arrays in the future.

This spacewalk began on Thursday morning at 8:33 AM EDT (6:03 PM Indian Standard Time) and ended on Friday at 3:00 PM EDT (12:30 AM Indian Standard Time).

This was the 281st spacewalk for the space station, the sixth for Jessica Meir, and the first for Anil Menon.

Menon and Meir exited from the Quest Airlock and worked on structural upgrades on the outer parts of the orbital laboratory for six hours and 27 minutes.

Their objective was to install mounting hardware on the 3B power channel located on the station's Starboard 6 truss segment.

NASA stated that this work will help in installing the Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) in the future. This will provide additional power to the orbital laboratory, which will be helpful in supporting critical systems and safely de-orbiting the space station.

A total of 8 new solar panels are to be installed on the space station, of which 6 have been installed.

2. Successful testing of ballistic missile Agni-4 conducted

On 6 August, the ballistic missile Agni-4 was successfully tested from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha.

The Ministry of Defence said that all operational and technical parameters of this missile were checked, which were completely successful.

It has advanced avionics and digital control systems, with the help of which it can hit targets with high accuracy up to a range of 4,000 km.

This is a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) made in India. It was tested under the supervision of the Strategic Forces Command.

According to DRDO, many indigenous technologies have been used in Agni-4.

These include composite rocket motor, digital control system and high-performance onboard computer.

With the help of these technologies, the accuracy and operational range of the missile has improved from before.

Agni-4 fills the capability gap between Agni-2 and Agni-3 in India's missile arsenal.

DRDO started work on the Agni-4 missile project in 2007.

In 2011, Agni-II Prime, developed by DRDO's Advanced Systems Laboratory in Hyderabad, was officially named Agni-4.

The first test of Agni-4 took place in 2010, but it was not successful.

In 2014, Agni-4 was successfully tested from a road-mobile launcher.

During this, the missile reached a height of approximately 850km and successfully reached its designated target in the Indian Ocean after covering a distance of about 4,000km.

SPORTS

3. R Praggnanandhaa won the 'Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz' title

On 6 August, Indian Chess Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa won the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz title in the US.

After the rapid round, Praggnanandhaa remained at the top of the points table. He defeated Uzbekistan's Javokhir Sindarov.

Praggnanandhaa will be given a prize money of $50,000, which is approximately ₹48,00,000.

Earlier in June 2026, Praggnanandhaa had also won the Norway Chess title.

This tournament was held in St. Louis city, America, between 31 July and 7 August.

Praggnanandhaa has become one of the youngest Indians to win this title.

Praggnanandhaa is now considered a strong contender for the World Chess Championship.

Praggnanandhaa's next Grand Chess Tour tournament, the Sinquefield Cup, will begin on 10 August.

MISCELLANEOUS

4. US has tightened Birthright Citizenship and Birth Tourism rules

On 6 August, US President Donald Trump signed two orders related to birthright citizenship and birth tourism.

Following this order, visa restrictions will be increased on those foreign tourists who want to come to the US to give birth to a child.

US consular officers can now reject or cancel all those visas which are suspected of coming to the US only to give birth to a child.

Actually, if tourists going to the US on a tourist visa (B-1/B-2) are going for sightseeing and their real purpose is to give birth to a child, then this will be considered 'visa fraud'.

Such people can be banned from entering the US for life. According to the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, generally a person born on American soil is considered an American citizen, regardless of their parents' citizenship or immigration status.

In June 2026, the US Supreme Court rejected Trump's earlier order calling it unconstitutional and upheld the constitutional protection of birthright citizenship.

5. Center approves bio-energy scheme 'Gobar-Dhan'

On 6 August, the Union Cabinet approved the National Circular Bio-Energy Scheme 'GOBARdhan' with a total expenditure of ₹23,731 crore.

This will convert the large quantities of agricultural residues, cattle dung, press mud, municipal organic waste and other biomass resources available in the country into clean fuel, organic manure and bio-energy.

This scheme will be implemented from 2026-27 to 2035-36. The objective of this scheme is to increase domestic Compressed Biogas (CBG) production by approximately ten times.

This includes mobilising large-scale private investment and creating a robust circular bio-economy across the country.

Today's History

In 1908, the Wright Brothers publicly flew an aircraft for the first time in Le Mans, France.

In 1936, Corbett National Park was established. It was the country's first national park.

In 1942, Mahatma Gandhi launched the 'Quit India Movement' against the British and gave the slogan 'Do or Die'.

In 1990, violent protests occurred in Bihar against the implementation of the Mandal Commission report.