Page 2 - Nasa

Duffy vows Nasa will beat China to moon, says 'I'll be damned' if not

During the meeting, Duffy addressed testimony from Wednesday's Senate Commerce Committee hearing that highlighted concerns over Nasa's ability to return humans to the surface of the moon before China

Indian-American Amit Kshatriya named Nasa's associate administrator

A decorated Indian-American Amit Kshatriya has been named as NASA's new 'exploration-focussed' associate administrator, the US space agency announced here. Kshatriya, a 20-year NASA veteran, was most recently the deputy in charge of the Moon to Mars Programme in the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) headquarters in Washington. Acting NASA Administrator Sean P Duffy Wednesday named exploration-focussed Amit Kshatriya as the new associate administrator of NASA, the agency's top civil service role, a NASA statement said. Born in Wisconsin to Indian immigrant parents, educated at California Institute of Technology (CalTech) and the University of Texas at Austin, Kshatriya is one of only about 100 people in history to serve as a mission control flight director. He joined NASA in 2003. Kshatriya was decorated with the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal for actions as the lead flight director for the 50t

Trump announces that Space Command is moving from Colorado to Alabama

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that US Space Command will be located in Alabama, reversing a Biden-era decision to keep it at its temporary headquarters in Colorado. The long-expected decision from Trump caps a four-year tug of war between two states and opposing administrations about where to locate US Space Command, an intense fight because the headquarters would be a significant boon to the local economy. Alabama and Colorado have long battled to claim Space Command, with elected officials from both states asserting their state is the better location. The US Space Command headquarters will move to the beautiful locale of a place called Huntsville, Alabama, forever to be known from this point forward as Rocket City, said Trump, flanked by Republican members of Alabama's congressional delegation, from the Oval Office on Tuesday. We had a lot of competition for this and Alabama's getting it." Trump said Huntsville won the race for the Space Command headquarters, in par

Shubhanshu Shukla gets hero's welcome in Lucknow after historic space feat

Indian Air Force Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla returned to his hometown Lucknow on Monday to a rousing reception after becoming the first Indian to visit the International Space Station. Although he arrived in India from the US on August 17, he is visiting the Uttar Pradesh capital now after participating in multiple outreach events, including a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 18. Family members, including his parents Shambhu and Asha Shukla, wife Kamna, and son Kiash, were present at the airport to greet him. They were joined by cheering crowds waving the tricolour and chanting "Vande Mataram". Adding to the celebratory atmosphere, a troupe played drums and trumpets, while students from Shukla's alma mater, City Montessori School (CMS), came dressed in vibrant costumes representing space missions and celestial objects. CMS manager Geeta Gandhi Kingdon was among those personally welcoming the school's celebrated alumnus. From the airport, Shukla embarked on a

From shy to living India's space dream: Shubhanshu Shukla's journey

IAF's Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla grew as a "shy and reserved" person, hearing stories of the 1984 spaceflight of Rakesh Sharma in his childhood days. On Sunday, Shukla, India's second astronaut to travel to space after Sharma, was signing autographs for school students and obliging fellow air warriors queuing up to get clicked with him. Life, like his recent space sojourn in a spacecraft orbit, has indeed come full circle for Shukla. The occasion was the felicitation of Shukla and three other chosen Gaganyaan astronauts by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the Air Force Auditorium in Subroto Park here. During the event, Shukla, who goes by the callsign 'Shux', shared his journey of joining the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the experiences and challenges he faced while being part of the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). "I grew up as a shy and reserved person. We used to hear stories of the spaceflight of Rakesh Sharma in our childhood days," he said. Shu

Co-astronaut Nair likens Shubhanshu Shukla's return from space to Diwali

Astronaut Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair on Thursday likened Shubhanshu Shukla's return to India after a successful space mission to the festival of Diwali, which is celebrated to mark Lord Ram's return to Ayodhya. Group Captain Nair, who was the backup astronaut for Shukla for the Axiom-4 mission, also likened himself to Laxman, the younger brother of Lord Ram. "A few months from now, we will celebrate Diwali. That's the time when Shri Ram entered Ayodhya. We are here right now with Ram that is Shux, and I can call myself Laxman. It feels like Diwali today, and all our countrymen are here to receive us," Nair said at a press conference here. Shukla, who had the callsign 'Shux' during the Axiom-4 mission, and Nair returned to India earlier this week after nearly a year-long stay in the US, during which they trained for the mission to the International Space Station (ISS). "Remember, I am elder to Shux. But I would love to be Laxman to this Ram every day. Ram and Laxman got a lot of he

Very soon, someone from our own soil will go to space in our rocket: Shukla

On his Axiom-4 Mission, Shukla said the experience from the ISS mission would be very useful for India's own Gaganyaan mission, and he learnt a lot in the past year as part of his mission

Hijacked satellites, orbiting weapons: Space new battlefield in this era

As Russia held its Victory Day parade this year, hackers backing the Kremlin hijacked an orbiting satellite that provides television service to Ukraine. Instead of normal programing, Ukrainian viewers saw parade footage beamed in from Moscow: waves of tanks, soldiers and weaponry. The message was meant to intimidate, and it was also an illustration that 21st century war is waged not just on land, sea and air but also in cyberspace and the reaches of outer space. Disabling a satellite could deal a devastating blow without a single bullet, and it can be done by targeting the satellite's security software or disrupting its ability to send or receive signals from Earth. If you can impede a satellite's ability to communicate, you can cause a significant disruption, said Tom Pace, CEO of NetRise, a cybersecurity firm focused on protecting supply chains. He served in the Marines before working on cyber issues at the Department of Energy. Think about GPS, he said. Imagine if a population l

Shubhanshu Shukla returns Sunday after historic space mission, to meet PM

Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is set to return to India on Sunday after his historic visit to the International Space Station (ISS) and is eager to share his experiences with friends and colleagues back home as ISRO eyes its maiden human spaceflight in 2027. Shukla, who has been in the US, training for the Axiom-4 mission to ISS for the past one year, is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and travel to his hometown Lucknow soon after. He is expected to be back in the capital to participate in the National Space Day celebrations on August 22-23. Shukla posted on Instagram a smiling photograph of himself sitting in an aeroplane, and said in its caption that he was filled with mixed emotions as he left the US and could not wait to return to India to share his experiences with everyone back home. "As I sit on the plane to come back to India, I have a mix of emotions running through my heart. I feel sad leaving a fantastic group of people behind who were my friends and family f

SpaceX gets billions from US govt but gives little to nothing back in taxes

Tax experts said that not having to pay $5 billion in federal income taxes was substantial and notable for a company that has relied on contracts with the US government to an unusual degree

Isro to launch 6,500 kg US-made communication satellite from India

After marking a humble beginning in the Indian space programme with a tiny rocket supplied by the United States, ISRO would launch a 6,500 kg communication satellite built by the US in the next couple of months, the chairman of the space agency, V Narayanan said on Sunday. Following the historic launch of NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission onboard a GSLV-F16 rocket on July 30, ISRO would be launching another satellite for the United States, he said at an event near Chennai. Narayanan, who is also the secretary of Department of Space, was presented with the honorary degree of Doctor of Science, by the Governor of Maharashtra C P Radhakrishnan, during the 21st Convocation of SRM Institute of Science and Technology at Kattankulathur near Chennai. In his acceptance speech, Narayanan recalled that the ISRO was set up in 1963 and the country was 6-7 years behind advanced countries then. In the same year, a tiny rocket was donated by the United States marking the beginnings

Japan's Murata enters India with Chennai plant, eyes deeper push

Murata's first India unit begins capacitor packaging in Chennai; the firm plans deeper localisation amid growing demand across electronics, auto and industrial sectors

Nuclear reactor on the Moon? Nasa's Sean Duffy has an elaborate plan

Acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy sees the plan to build a nuclear reactor on the Moon as a new space race, especially given China's and Russia's growing ambitions in space

Best of BS Opinion: India must not shy away from trade negotiations

Our Opinion page today makes a case for more trade talks, note less; benefits for Isro from partnering with Nasa; a sustainable fix for urban congestion; and the need for a framework for digital fraud

Collaboration for future: Isro and India will benefit from Nasa

Artemis signup allows Isro and the fast-growing Indian aerospace sector to bid for Nasa tenders and the famously frugal Indian engineering sector could find opportunities there and pick up new skills

India eyes 10% global space market share, greater private role: Isro chief

Isro chairman V Narayanan says commercial expansion will require upgrades in infrastructure, industry-led development, and manufacturing capabilities to meet rising demand

India-US space partnership takes off with successful NISAR launch

Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) is the costliest earth observation satellite till date, with an investment of $1.5 billion

Nasa-Isro earth observation satellite NISAR all set for launch today

Aimed at boosting ties between India and the United States on space exploration, India is geared up to launch an earth observation satellite jointly developed by ISRO and NASA on Wednesday. Eyeing to study the planet Earth as a whole from a Sun-synchronous Orbit, the NISAR satellite is a combination of human skills and exchange of software and hardware between the two space agencies for over a decade. NISAR, an acronym for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite, weighing 2,393 kg is expected to fly on a 51.7 metre tall, three stage, GSLV-F16 rocket at a prefixed time of 5.40 pm from the second launch pad at this spaceport situated about 135 km from Chennai on Wednesday. The countdown for the launch commenced at 2.10 pm on July 29 and has been progressing, ISRO said, and the mission would be classified into launch phase, deployment phase, commissioning phase and science phase. "GSLV-F16/NISAR Today's the day! Launch Day has arrived for GSLV-F16 and NISAR. GSLV-F16 is standing

Eye in the sky: Nasa-Isro joint mission NISAR to launch on Wednesday

The imaging technology in Nisar will be able to provide very high-resolution data on changes as small as one centimetre in size on Earth's surface

Nearly 4,000 Nasa workers set to exit voluntarily: Here's why it matters

Leadership turns to voluntary exits to avoid layoffs, but experts warn of long-term impact on missions and innovation