Satellite Launch

Space industry congratulates Isro for successful launch of CMS-03 satellite

Industry bodies on Sunday congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on the launch of CMS-03, the heaviest satellite to lift-off from Indian soil. At 4410 kg, the CMS-03, a replacement satellite for GSAT-7 used by the Indian Navy, was placed in the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) by the LVM-3 rocket on Sunday evening. "The successful launch of the CMS-03 satellite by LVM3 rocket (Bahubali) is a monumental achievement for India, powerfully demonstrating our sovereign capability in launching heavy-payload satellites for strategic applications," Lt Gen Anil K Bhatt (retd.), Director General Indian Space Association (ISpA) said in a statement here. Subba Rao Pavuluri, Chairman of Ananth Technologies Pvt. Ltd (ATL) and President of the Satcom Industry Association-India, said the successful launch of CMS-3, a multi-band military communication satellite demonstrated ISRO's capability to deliver advanced communication infrastructure to the nation. Pavuluri said ATL ...

Isro to launch CMS-03 communication satellite on Nov 2 with LVM3

The ISRO on Sunday said its LVM3 launch vehicle is scheduled to lift off with the CMS-03 communication satellite on November 2, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. "India's LVM3 launch vehicle is scheduled to launch the CMS-03 communication satellite in its fifth operational flight (LVM3-M5) on November 2, 2025," ISRO said in a statement. According to the space agency, CMS-03 is a multi-band communication satellite designed to provide services across a wide oceanic region, including the Indian landmass. Weighing about 4,400 kg, it will be the heaviest communication satellite to be launched to a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) from Indian soil. "The previous mission of LVM3 launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission, wherein India became the first country to land successfully near the lunar south pole," ISRO added. ISRO further said that the launch vehicle has been fully assembled and integrated with the spacecraft and was moved to the launch pad on October 26 for final ..

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

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

IN-SPACe transfers 10 ISRO technologies to private sector for space growth

IN-SPACe has transferred 10 cutting-edge ISRO technologies to six Indian companies, spanning upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors, to boost India's space industry capabilities

Google-backed Pixxel launches India's first private satellite constellation

This launch marks the first phase of Pixxel's commercial constellation, with three additional Firefly satellites scheduled to launch in the second quarter of 2025

Pixxel launches highest-resolution commercial hyperspectral satellites

Bengaluru-based startup Pixxel announced the launch of three of the world's highest-resolution commercial hyperspectral satellites from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Wednesday. The Firefly constellation satellites were integrated via Exolaunch and launched aboard the Transporter-12 rideshare mission with SpaceX. The launch took place around 1 am. Pixxel organised a livescreening of the launch at its headquarters in Bengaluru. With the launch of the first three satellites, Pixxel will now be able to deliver more precise critical climate and Earth insights, said founder and CEO Awais Ahmed. Ahmed was addressing reporters on the sidelines of the screening. He said the Firefly constellation was six times sharper than the 30-metre standard of most existing hyperspectral satellites, capturing fine details previously invisible to conventional systems. The Firefly also marks a watershed moment in India's space journey as the nation's first commercial satellite ...

Isro set to launch much-delayed Proba 3 mission satellites from Sriharikota

Spacecraft will be carried by the PSLV-C59 vehicle into a highly elliptical orbit as a dedicated commercial mission of NewSpace India Limited (NSIL)

Russian rocket launches Iranian satellites as Moscow, Tehran expand ties

A Russian rocket on Tuesday blasted off successfully to carry a pair of Iranian satellites into orbit, a launch that reflected growing cooperation between Moscow and Tehran. The Soyuz rocket lifted off as scheduled from Vostochny launchpad in far eastern Russia and put its payload into a designated orbit nine minutes after the launch. It was carrying two Russian Ionosphere-M Earth observation satellites and several dozen smaller satellites, including the two Iranian ones. Iran's two satellites, named Kowsar and Hodhod, were the first launched on behalf of the country's private sector. In 2022, a Russian rocket launched an Iranian Earth observation satellite that was built in Russia on Tehran's order. Tuesday's launch comes as Russia and Iran have expanded ties in various spheres. Ukraine and the West have accused Tehran of providing Moscow with hundreds of exploding drones for use on the battlefield in Ukraine and helped launch their production in Russia. The Iranian drone deliveri

SpaceX's rival AST SpaceMobile soars 1,300%; now comes the satellite launch

AST's stock is up about 1,300% since hitting a record low in April and the best performer in the small-capitalization Russell 2000 Index over the past six months

China to launch first satellites of constellation to rival Starlink: Report

The competition to occupy Earth's lower orbits also has military implications, with the potential to affect the balance of power between warring countries

North Korea informs Japan of plan to launch satellite rocket by June 3

Japan said Monday that North Korea has informed it of a plan to launch a satellite by June 3. Japan's coast guard said it has been notified by North Korea about its planned launch of a "satellite rocket" beginning Monday through midnight June 3. The launch plan likely refers to the North's efforts to launch its second military spy satellite into space. South Korea's military said Friday it detected signs that North Korea is engaging in activities believed to be preparations to launch a spy satellite at its main Tongchangri launch facility in the northwest. Last November, North Korea sent its first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit as part of its efforts to build a space-based surveillance network to deal with what it calls US-led military threats. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later told a key governing party meeting that the country would launch three additional military spy satellites in 2024. The UN bans North Korea from conducting satellite launches, considering

SpaceX rocket deploys Tata's indigenous military-grade satellite into orbit

Named TSAT-1A and manufactured at the Vemagal facility in Karnataka, the satellite was part of SpaceX's payload aboard the Bandwagon-1 mission

Sub-metre optical satellite assembled in India deployed into space: TASL

Tata Advanced Systems Limited on Monday announced the "successful deployment" into space of its sub-metre optical satellite that was assembled and tested in India. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launched TSAT-1A satellite from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, in the US on Sunday (April 7), Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) said in a statement. "TSAT-1A will deliver high-resolution optical satellite images with increased collection capacity, dynamic range, and low-latency delivery through its multispectral and hyperspectral capabilities," the company said. A wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, TASL is a significant player for aerospace and defence solutions in India. TASL, India's leading private sector player for aerospace and defence solutions, and Satellogic Inc, a leader in sub-metre resolution Earth Observation data collection, "today announced the successful deployment into space of TASL's TSAT-1A satellite aboard the Bandwagon-1 mission, which SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket", the

Ananth Technologies claims crucial role in 55 modules for launch system

For the satellite INSAT-3DS, ATL has supplied complete power control system, solar array generation system, power distribution system, DC-DC power converters, star sensors

Countdown for launch of INSAT-3DS meteorological satellite begins: Isro

The countdown for the launch of INSAT-3DS meteorological satellite onboard a Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle commenced on Friday, the ISRO said on Friday. The lift-off for the GSLV-F14 in its 16th mission is scheduled at 5.35 pm on Saturday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The INSAT-3DS satellite is a follow-on mission of the third generation meteorological satellite to be placed in a geostationary orbit, and it is fully funded by the Ministry of Earth Sciences. "GSLV-F14/INSAT-3DS Mission: 27.5 hours countdown leading to the launch on February 17, 2024 at 17.35 hrs has commenced" ISRO said.

Iran launches satellite that is part of Western-criticised programme

Iran on said Saturday it had conducted a successful satellite launch into its highest orbit yet, the latest for a program the West fears improves Tehran's ballistic missiles. The announcement comes as heightened tensions grip the wider Middle East over Israel's ongoing war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and just days after Iran and Pakistan engaged in tit-for-tat airstrikes in each others' countries. The Soraya satellite was placed in an orbit at some 750 kilometers (460 miles) above the Earth's surface with a three-stage rocket, the state-run IRNA news agency said. It did not immediately acknowledge what the satellite did. The launch was part of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' space programme alongside Iran's civilian space program, the report said. There was no immediate independent confirmation Iran had successfully put the satellite in orbit. The United States has previously said Iran's satellite launches defy a UN Security Council resolution and called on Tehran to undertake no ...

Kim's sister rejects US offer of dialogue, vows more satellite launches

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday dismissed US calls for a return to diplomacy and lambasted condemnations of the North's recent spy satellite launch, vowing more launches in violation of UN bans. During a UN Security Council meeting earlier this week, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, called the North's satellite launch a "reckless, unlawful" action that threatens its neighbours. But she reiterated the US offer for dialogue without any preconditions, saying North Korea "can choose the timing and topic". Kim's sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, rejected the US overture and threatened more satellite and other weapons launches. "The sovereignty of an independent state can never be an agenda item for negotiations, and therefore, (North Korea) will never sit face to face with the US for that purpose," Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by state media. "(North Korea) will continue to make efforts to develop ...

North Korea restores border posts amid tensions over spy satellite: Seoul

South Korea said on Monday North Korea is restoring frontline guard posts that it had dismantled during a previous period of inter-Korean rapprochement, deepening tensions that spiked over the North's recent spy satellite launch. The two Koreas each earlier dismantled or disarmed 11 of their guard posts inside their heavily fortified border under a 2018 deal meant to ease frontline military confrontations. But the deal is now in danger of being scraped, as both Koreas openly threaten to breach it amid rising animosities over the North's satellite launch. After North Korea claimed to place its first military spy satellite into orbit last Tuesday, South Korea said it would partially suspend the deal and resume front aerial surveillance in response. South Korea called its step a minimum defensive measure to respond to the launch that it says involved the North's intentions of improving its missile technology as well as establishing a space-based surveillance system. North Korea ...

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