Space

ISRO is targeting seven launches during the current financial year, with the next mission scheduled to lift off within the next two months, ISRO Chairman V Narayanan announced on Saturday. Speaking at a press conference following the historic maiden orbital launch of Skyroot Aerospace's Vikram-1 rocket, Narayanan stated that two satellites are already fully built, while five to six others are in the final phase of integration. "This financial year, we have targeted at least seven launches. We will start the launch within two months," Narayanan said. The space agency's upcoming operational schedule includes the first uncrewed mission under the Gaganyaan human spaceflight program, alongside the slated satellite launches. Hailing the successful flight of Vikram-1 by private startup Skyroot Aerospace as a milestone, the ISRO chief lauded the young team -- having an average age of 28 years -- for achieving a successful orbital mission in their very first attempt. He noted that the ...

India's first private orbital-class rocket, Vikram-1, carrying multiple technology demonstration payloads and a postcard from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, lifted off from this spaceport on Saturday. Named "Mission Aagaman" (arrival), the test flight's launch marks a historic milestone for the country's commercial space sector, executed by Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace. On a cloudy day, the seven-storey-tall, four-stage Vikram-1 rocket lifted off at 12.05 pm on Saturday from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, here. Following a "planned hold," due to apparent navigation issues, the launch was revised 35 minutes late than the original prefixed time of 11.30 am. After its initial journey of a little short of 16 minutes, Vikram-1 is expected to place the payloads, both domestic and foreign, into a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at an altitude of 450 km with an inclination of 60 degrees. Vikram-1, named after the legendary Vikram Sarabhai who is often regarded as the Fat

Skyroot Aerospace's maiden orbital mission marks a watershed moment for India's private space industry, showing the impact of policy reforms as India looks to emerge as a global commercial space hub

Why is the government making it harder for some Isro scientists to leave? The answer lies in India's growing private space industry, and lessons from abroad

Reliance Jio plans to deploy 1,600 low-Earth orbit satellites offering up to 5 Tbps capacity, with 20-22 ground stations to provide broadband and mobile satellite services across India

Vikram-1 will become the first privately designed and developed orbital-class rocket to attempt a launch from Indian soil, marking a milestone for India's space sector

The space-tech startup accelerator plans to select five to six startups for its third cohort around September as it expands support for early-stage ventures in India and overseas

Scientists are investigating how the unusual polygon-shaped ridges formed and whether nearby dark rocks are Martian debris or meteorites

Former Isro Chairman S Somanath has joined Agnikul Cosmos as a board observer ahead of Mission 02, which aims to demonstrate booster recovery and an on-orbit upper stage

Nasa astronaut Anil Menon and two Russian cosmonauts lifted off onboard a Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft from Kazakhstan on an eight-month mission to the International Space Station on Tuesday. The spacecraft carrying Menon and Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina lifted off from the Baikonur cosmodrome at 8:17 p.m. IST. After a two-orbit, three-hour trip to the station, the spacecraft will automatically dock at 11:56 p.m. IST to the Prichal module. Once aboard, the trio will join NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, and Chris Williams, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev, and Andrey Fedyaev.

Cosmoserve Space's Mission Embrace will fly aboard Skyroot's maiden orbital launch to demonstrate soft robotic satellite capture technology for future active space debris removal missions

A commercial spacecraft is set to capture Nasa's Swift Observatory and raise its orbit, extending the telescope's life after solar storms accelerated its descent towards Earth

Gliding through "interstellar space" at about 61,000 km an hour, Voyager 1 crossed the heliopause, the boundary where the Sun's solar wind gives way to the interstellar medium, in 2012

The Artemis III crew announcement grabbed headlines, but the bigger story is Nasa's shift from building spacecraft to buying services from private companies

A Blue Origin rocket exploded during a test at the launch pad on Thursday night, shaking nearby homes and briefly painting the sky orange. Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin said its New Glenn rocket exploded during an engine-firing test. All personnel have been accounted for, the company said via X. Emergency officials said there is no threat due to fumes or other potential hazards. The massive New Glenn was grounded in April after it left a satellite in the wrong orbit because of engine failure. It was only the third flight of the rocket that Blue Origin intends to use to launch landers to the moon for NASA. Homes shook in nearby Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach around 9 pm, with residents turning to social media to wonder what happened. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 36 is visible from the beach, and the internet quickly filled with photos of an orange fireball. "We experienced an anomaly during today's hotfire test," Blue Origin said in a brief statement. "We will prov

The US has pressed Argentina and Chile to review two Chinese telescope projects in the Andean deserts; astronomers are worried about setbacks to research

US pressure has stalled Chinese telescope projects in Argentina and Chile as South America becomes a new front in the US-China space rivalry

Skyroot Aerospace has raised nearly $60 million at a $1.1 billion valuation as the private space company prepares for the maiden launch of its Vikram-1 orbital rocket

Bezos's efforts to make staff incentives more competitive come on the back of an intensifying rivalry between Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX