Page 2 - Space

Here's how a billionaire and his buddies are taking space to the next level

The billionaire and his friends will spend five days aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon, reaching altitudes higher than any human since Nasa's Apollo missions in the 1970s

Fortunate to have worked with exceptional people who shaped Isro: Somanath

Describing himself as a 100 per cent 'Made in India' product, ISRO chairman S Somanath on Sunday said the skills he acquired were derived from his experience at the Indian space agency. Somanath, who was awarded the Special Life Fellow Award by IIT Kharagpur on its 74th foundation day, reflected on his years at ISRO, crediting his achievements, including Chandrayaan-3, to the great people and leaders he has worked with. "Our work over the past 38 years, including my own, has focused on building key capabilities within this organisation. I am fortunate to have worked with exceptional people, motivators, and leaders who have shaped the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) into what it is today. I have had the opportunity to follow in their footsteps and contribute to projects like Chandrayaan-3 that make us all proud," Somanath said. Addressing the students and faculty of the premier institute, he said, "What you are achieving as an institution is commendable, and it is crucial f

Isro, Skyroot, Agnikul eye share in small satellite launch market in India

ISRO's latest satellite launch vehicle '?SSLV'? is the first rocket in its category to be ready for commercialisation with two others, 'Vikram' from Skyroot and 'Agnibaan' from Agnikul Cosmos, expected to vie for market share to place small satellites in orbit. According to industry estimates, the satellite launch market in India is expected to grow from USD 720 million in 2022 to USD 3.5 billion by 2033 and small satellites are likely to be the most preferred modes for a number of applications ranging from providing internet connectivity to earth observation. Space start-ups such as Pixxel and Satsure have already announced plans to have constellations of small satellites for the range of services they plan to offer and Indian launch vehicles will vie to be the preferred rockets to place these satellites in orbit. "Larger launch vehicles are there, but with a large number of satellites being launched, companies do not want to wait, they want to launch a satellite as soon as they ca

NASA needs more time to decide length of Boeing astronaut ISS stay

NASA said last week that it was working with Elon Musk's SpaceX on plans to return two astronauts to Earth in February 2025

Not possible to locate people under debris using space tech: Isro chief

In view of the recent natural disasters like the landslide in Kerala, where many people are trapped under debris, ISRO chairman S Somanath on Saturday said only a certain depth of filtration is possible with space technology and could not be relied on for finding those people. The ISRO chief was answering a question in this regard in the outreach programme organised by ISRO, #asksomanatisro on Instagram. There are limitations of space-based sensors to locate objects that are buried under debris, which is currently an issue. It is not possible to detect what is deep under the ground from space. A certain depth of filtration is always possible by radar signals, but it is not possible to find, say, underground channels or petroleum deposits and deep minerals, added Somanath. Answering another question during #asksomanathisro, on the Space Flight Agreement with NASA-identified service provider announced on August 2, through which two Gaganyatris' will train to be backup mission pilots,

Budget 2024: FinMin announces Critical Mineral Mission; what we know so far

Union Budget 2024: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the government will soon conduct the first round of offshore mineral auction round under the Critical Mineral Mission

Space economy receives Rs 1,000 crore venture capital in Union Budget 2024

Union Budget 2024-25: Indian space economy is expected to grow to $44 billion by 2033

GRSE to build ocean research vessel in collaboration with NCPOR

Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) signed a contract with the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) for constructing an ocean research vessel, an official said on Wednesday. The contract, worth approximately Rs 840 crore, was signed between GRSE and NCPOR officials for the construction of the vessel in 42 months, the shipyard informed the stock exchanges. The Kolkata-headquartered warship builder said it has the necessary expertise in the field of survey vessels and has been building them for the Indian Navy for nearly four decades now. The contract was signed by the officials of the shipyard and NCPOR in Goa on Tuesday, the GRSE official said in a statement. In December 2023, GRSE delivered the INS Sandhayak, the largest survey vessel to be built in the country, to the Indian Navy. Three more vessels of this class are at various stages of completion at the shipyard, he said, adding that this experience will stand GRSE in good stead wh

Good news for human explorers! Newly found cave could house crews on Moon

Radar data gathered by Nasa's lunar reconnaissance orbiter (LRO) revealed that the deepest known pit on the moon leads to a cave 45 metres wide and up to 80 metres long

Venus sings to the tune of Missy Elliott as NASA beams her song to planet

Nasa Milliot's "The Rain (Supa Dupa song) was transmitted from DSN's Gladstone complex to Venus, making it the first hip hop song that has been sent to deep space

Elon Musk's Mars vision: Turn sci-fi into reality with Mars colonisation

Billionaire Elon Musk's Martian dreams stir awe and skepticism alike, as humanity weighs the allure of a new frontier against the tough realities of space colonisation

Space industry demands tax exemptions, PLI scheme from Union Budget

Import holidays, GST exemption for components of launch vehicles, productivity-linked incentives (PLI) and government stepping in as a customer are some of the expectations of the private space sector from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as she presents the Union Budget next week. "More money for space related acquisitions, tax holidays, import holidays, and PLI scheme for space," Pixxel Space co-founder and CEO Awais Ahmed told PTI when asked about his wishlist for the budget. Industry bodies Indian Space Association (ISpA) and Satcom Industry Association (SIA-India) have sought greater government expenditure on the space sector in the form of an anchor customer for the nascent private sector. "ISpA calls for a commitment from the government to procure and adopt space technology solutions across various governance areas such as agriculture, disaster management, infrastructure planning and development monitoring, urban development, and remote area connectivity," ISpA director .

Webb Space Telescope's cosmic shot shows pair of intertwined galaxies

The Webb Space Telescope has captured a pair of intertwined galaxies glowing in the infrared. The observatory operated by NASA and the European Space Agency photographed the two galaxies 326 million light-years away, surrounded by a blue haze of stars and gas. A light-year is 5.8 trillion miles. The pictures, released Friday, marks the second anniversary of Webb's science operations. The neighbouring galaxies, nicknamed Penguin and the Egg, have been tangled up for tens of millions of years, according to NASA. They'll eventually merge into a single galaxy. The same interaction will happen to our own Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy in 4 billion years, the space agency said. Considered the successor to the aging Hubble Space Telescope, Webb is the biggest and most powerful astronomical observatory ever launched. It rocketed away in 2021 and underwent six months of commissioning, before its first official images were released in July 2022. It's positioned 1 million miles (1.6 mill

Decoded: What is Thirty Meter Telescope? Why is it significant for India?

The Thirty Meter Telescope, featuring a 30-meter primary mirror and advanced adaptive optics, aims to explore fundamental questions about the universe

Budget 2024: India's space sector eyes strategic allocations and incentives

Union Budget 2024: The space sector in India is expected to reach $44 billion by 2033. Industry leaders call for incentives to push private sector growth

China's Tianlong-3 rocket crashes into mountains after launch during test

A powerful Chinese rocket crashed after an "accidental launch during a ground test on Sunday due to a structural failure, a private company responsible for the rocket said. Space Pioneer, also known as Beijing Tianbing Technology, said in a statement that the Tianlong-3 rocket was unexpectedly launched during a static-fire test at a facility in Gongyi county in Henan province. Luckily it landed in a hilly area of the city of Gongyi and the company said there were no injuries as people in the area were evacuated in advance of the rocket test. The nine engines of the rocket, stated to be the most powerful in the country, fired in the afternoon on Sunday were lifted off because of a structural failure at the connection between the rocket body and the test platform, the company said. Space Pioneer is one of several private aerospace companies that are developing medium-lift, reusable rockets to help China assemble its satellite constellations comparable to SpaceX's Starlink. Residents

AWS launches accelerator programme to support space-tech startups

Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Friday launched a space accelerator programme to support 24 startups. Through the 14-week programme, AWS said it will support selected space-tech startups in the growth journey with expertise, mentorship, and AWS credits cumulatively worth up to USD 100,000. "It is a direct result of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement AWS signed with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) in 2023, to jointly support the growth and development of space startups in India," a company statement said. The programme, which the firm claims to be India's first-ever, is supported by T-Hub, an innovation hub and ecosystem enabler, and Minfy, an AWS Premier Partner. The startups selected for the AWS Space Accelerator: India 2024 program operate in a range of space segments such as spacecraft propulsion, orbital and launch vehicles, satellite imagery, geospatial applications, weather analysi

Nasa calls off a spacewalk after astronaut's suit observes water leakage

This is the second time Nasa has called off the spacewalk, after one had to be postponed when an astronaut reported discomfort in the spacesuit earlier this month

India, US working to train Isro astronauts at NASA's Johnson Space Center

India and the US on Monday said they concluded the Strategic Framework for Human Spaceflight Cooperation to deepen interoperability in space and are working toward commencing advanced training for ISRO astronauts at the NASA Johnson Space Center. A fact-sheet issued by the US and India after the iCET Dialogue between US National Security Adviser (NSA) Jake Sullivan and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said the two sides are also exploring opportunities to participate in the Lunar Gateway Programme. The Lunar Gateway Programme aims to build a space station around the moon as part of the collaborative Artemis programme spearheaded by the US. The fact-sheet said the talks between the two NSAs explored opportunities for India's participation in the Lunar Gateway Programme, as well as joint avenues for collaboration in other space technologies. The two leaders also exchanged views on securing a carrier for the first-ever joint effort between NASA and Indian Space Research Organisati

WATCH: Sunita Williams scripts history as pilot of maiden Starliner flight

Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams created history by becoming the first woman to fly on the maiden mission of Boeing's Starliner test flight to the International Space Station