Page 43 - Isro

Chandrayaan-2 spectrometer maps abundance of sodium on moon for 1st time

The X-ray spectrometer 'CLASS' on the Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter has mapped an abundance of sodium on the moon for the first time, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (C1XS) detected sodium from its characteristic line in X-rays which opened up the possibility of mapping the amount of sodium on the Moon, it said. In a recent work published in 'The Astrophysical Journal Letters', Chandrayaan-2 mapped the abundance of sodium on the Moon for the very first time using CLASS (Chandrayaan-2 Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer), the national space agency said in a statement on Friday. "Built at the U R Rao Satellite Centre of ISRO in Bengaluru, CLASS provides clean signatures of the sodium line thanks to its high sensitivity and performance," the statement said. The study finds that a part of the signal could be arising from a thin veneer of sodium atoms weakly bound to the lunar grains. These sodium atoms can be nudged out

ISRO to launch 36 OneWeb satellites onboard LVM3 later this month

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said that it will launch 36 satellites of UK's global communications network OneWeb onboard its heaviest launcher LVM3

India's Mars orbiter dies after 6-month mission lasts eight years

The orbiter, called Mangalyaan in Sanskrit, made India only the fourth nation to reach the distant planet; it garnered global attention primarily for its shoestring budget

Mars Orbiter craft non-recoverable, Mangalyaan mission over, confirms ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation confirmed on Monday that the Mars Orbiter craft has lost communication with ground station, it's non-recoverable and the Mangalyaan mission has attained end-of-life. The ISRO gave an update on the Mars Orbiter Mission and the national meet held on September 27 to commemorate the MOM, on the event of completion of its eight years in the Martian orbit. It was also discussed that despite being designed for a life-span of six months as a technology demonstrator, the MOM has lived for about eight years in the Martian orbit with a gamut of significant scientific results on Mars as well as on the Solar corona, before losing communication with the ground station, as a result of a long eclipse in April 2022, the national space agency said. During the national meet, ISRO deliberated that the propellant must have been exhausted, and therefore, the "desired altitude pointing" could not be achieved for sustained power generation, ISRO said. "It was declare

Will take Isro's NavIC live on 5G phones by 2025, handset makers tell govt

However, opinion is divided among them on the additional cost of enabling the indigenous navigation system being touted as an alternative to GPS

HAL's rocket engine manufacturing facility inaugurated in Karnataka

An Integrated Cryogenic Engine Manufacturing Facility (ICMF) set up by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) that would cater to the entire rocket engine production under one roof for Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu here on Tuesday. The state-of-the-art ICMF, set up over an area of 4,500 square metres houses over 70 hi-tech equipment and testing facilities for manufacturing cryogenic (CE20) and semi-cryogenic (SE2000) engines of Indian rockets. In 2013, an MOU was signed with ISRO for establishing the facility for manufacturing cryogenic engine modules at HAL, Aerospace Division, and it was subsequently amended in 2016 for setting up of ICMF with an investment of Rs 208 crore. Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, ISRO Chairman S Somanath, HAL Chairman and Managing Director C B Ananthakrishnan, among others were present at the event. The commissioning of all the critical equipment for the ...

HAL sets up Rs 208 crore rocket engine manufacturing facility for Isro

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has set up a Rs 208 crore Integrated Cryogenic Engine Manufacturing Facility (ICMF) here that would cater to the entire rocket engine production under one roof for Indian Space Research Organisation. President Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate the state-of-the-art ICMF, set up over an area of 4,500 square metres housing over 70 hi-tech equipment and testing facilities for manufacturing cryogenic (CE20) and semi-cryogenic (SE2000) engines of Indian rockets, on Tuesday. In 2013, an MOU was signed with ISRO for establishing the facility for manufacturing cryogenic engine modules at HAL, Aerospace Division, and it was subsequently amended in 2016 for setting up of ICMF with an investment of Rs 208 crore. The commissioning of all the critical equipment for the manufacturing and assembly requirement has been completed, Bengaluru-headquartered HAL said on Monday, adding that the pre-production activities which involve preparation of the process and quality ..

World seeing India as inspirational place in space sector: ISRO chief

The world is looking at India as an inspirational place with what the country has achieved in the space sector in the last 60 years, chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation S Somanath said on Sunday. Somanath said he was witnessing a great transformation in the sector by bringing in startups, incubating them in space technology and bringing great applications to develop rockets and satellites. "The whole world is looking at India as an inspirational place and it is wonderful to see what is happening in India, especially in the space sector, with the startup eco system," he said at the 18th convocation of the SRM Institute of Science and Technology at Kattankulathur near here. Somanath, who also received the honorary degree of Doctorate of Science (honoris causa) in recognition of his contribution to the field of science, said, "We always believed (others) but others never believed we can do such things -- building rockets and satellites in this country ourselves -- besides ..

Isro successfully tests hybrid motor, eyes new rocket propulsion system

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully tested a hybrid motor, potentially paving the way for a new propulsion system for the forthcoming launch vehicles. The 30 kN hybrid motor tested at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday is scalable and stackable, the Bengaluru-headquartered space agency said. The test was supported by ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC). The motor used Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) as fuel and liquid oxygen (LOX) as the oxidiser. Unlike solid-solid or liquid-liquid combinations, a hybrid motor uses solid fuel and liquid oxidiser, it was noted. "Today's (Tuesday's) test of a flight equivalent 30 kN hybrid motor demonstrated ignition and sustained combustion for the intended duration of 15 seconds. The motor performance was satisfactory", an ISRO statement said. The use of liquids facilitates throttling, and the control over the flow rate of LOX enables the re-start capability, it

Why India's first high-throughput satellite broadband service is a big deal

The resulting explosion of bandwidth would provide a big boost to commerce in underserved areas

Australia, the Netherlands look to scale up space cooperation with ISRO

Top officials from Australia and the Netherlands discussed potential opportunities to strengthen space cooperation with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S Somanath. Head of Australian Space Agency (ASA) Enrico Palermo and Ambassador of the Netherlands to India, Bhutan and Nepal Marten van den Berg visited ISRO headquarters here on Tuesday. Australia's active support in establishing temporary ground station in Cocos (Keeling) Island for India's 'Gaganyaan' missions, potential opportunities for cooperation in earth observation, satellite navigation, space situational awareness, and weather and climate studies using satellite data were the highlights of the discussion, according to ISRO. In a separate meeting between the Dutch ambassador and ISRO Chairman, apart from the ongoing interactions for cooperation in remote sensing applications focussed on air pollution and water management, potential opportunities for cooperation in space-based astronomy were ...

HAL-L&T consortium bags Rs 860-crore Isro contract for five PSLVs

Isro has been providing satellite launch services since 1990 through the PSLV, launching 319 customer satellites from 33 countries

Isro demonstrates new tech that can be used for Mars, Venus missions

ISRO on Saturday successfully demonstrated a new technology with Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (IAD) that it said is a game-changer with multiple applications for future missions including to Mars and Venus. An IAD, designed and developed by ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), was successfully test flown in a 'Rohini' sounding rocket from Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS). The IAD was initially folded and kept inside the payload bay of the rocket, according to the Bengaluru-headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). At around 84 km altitude, the IAD was inflated and it descended through atmosphere with the payload part of sounding rocket. The pneumatic system for inflation was developed by ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), it said. The IAD has systematically reduced the velocity of the payload through aerodynamic drag and followed the predicted trajectory. "This is the first time that an IAD is designed specifically for spe

ISRO spy case 'victim' Maldivian national Fousia Hassan dies in Colombo

The ISRO spy case surfaced in 1994 when S. Nambi Narayanan, a top scientist at the ISRO unit here, was arrested on charges of espionage

Delhi HC junks arbitral award directing Antrix to pay $560 million to Devas

Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva on Monday said the arbitral award of September 14, 2015 was plagued with patent illegalities and fraud and was also in conflict with the public policy of India

Centre extends GAGAN compliance for Boeing 787 planes till Dec 2025

The government has given time till the end of December 2025 for aircraft maker Boeing to ensure its 787 Dreamliners are compliant with the GAGAN navigation system as major design changes will be required, according to a senior official. GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation or GAGAN has been jointly developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI). On August 18, the civil aviation ministry issued a notification saying Boeing 787 aircraft have been exempted from the GAGAN compliance requirement till December 31, 2025. The senior official at the ministry said the compliance requirement for Boeing 787 planes has been extended after due consultation with AAI and DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation). "Boeing has informed that to make 787 compliant with the GAGAN equipment, major design changes have to be carried and given a time frame of 4th quarter of 2025. Accordingly, the exemption to Boeing 787 has been provided," the official

TMS Ep241: UPI charges, FIFA bans AIFF, jewellery stocks, ISRO's SSLV

Should there be charges on UPI fund transfers? What's at stake as FIFA bans Indian football federation? Should you buy jewellery stocks this festive season? Why is ISRO's SSLV important? Answers here

What is ISRO's new SSLV and why is it important?

This month, a small glitch derailed an ISRO plan to place light-weight satellites into orbit. For the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle it was the first assignment and there is a lot in store for it

Devas Multimedia seizes $87,457 cash in US in Antrix Corporation dispute

Devas Multimedia has seized USD 87,457.47 cash that ISRO's commercial arm Antrix Corporation held in the US as it looked to enforce a USD 1.2 billion compensation it had won over a cancelled satellite deal, its lawyer said on Wednesday. Devas Multimedia America Inc had sought seizure of USD 145,000 but the actual recovery was USD 87,457.47 (a little less than Rs 70 lakh). This came after it secured a favourable order from the Eastern District Court of Virginia, Matthew D McGrill said. Originally, the company stated that it had seized USD 145,000 cash but later clarified that the actual seizure was lower than that amount. "The original claim amount was around USD 145,000 but was reduced as part of the bankruptcy proceedings (normal bankruptcy proceedings)," it said. The satellite company has been embroiled in a fight with the Indian government since a contract it had to develop wireless broadband in the country was cancelled in 2011. It was awarded USD 1.2 billion in international

Isro successfully tests Gaganyaan Low Altitude Escape Motor from Andhra

In another important milestone in the Gaganyaan project, ISRO successfully carried out the test-firing of the Low Altitude Escape Motor (LEM) of Crew Escape System, from Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh