Page 3 - Satellites

Russian Soyuz rocket with 3 astronauts blasts off to Intl Space Station

A Russian Soyuz rocket carrying three astronauts to the International Space Station blasted off Saturday, two days after its launch was aborted at the last minute. The spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, Russian Oleg Novitsky and Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus launched smoothly from the Russian-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan. The launch had been planned for Thursday but was halted by an automatic safety system about 20 seconds before the scheduled liftoff. The head of the Russian space agency, Yuri Borisov, said the launch abort was triggered by a voltage drop in a power source. The space capsule atop the rocket separated and went into orbit eight minutes after the launch and began a two-day, 34-orbit trip to the space station. If the launch had gone as scheduled on Thursday, the journey would have been much shorter, requiring only two orbits. Docking is now expected at 1510 GMT Monday. The three astronauts were to join the station's crew consisting of NA

China launches signal relay satellite for mission to far side of moon

The moon's near side always faces Earth. That means data transfers from the far side are impossible as there is no direct line of sight

Govt notifies FDI norms for space; move may bring in $44 bn by 2033

Industry expects $20 billion investment in the sector in 10 years

Google-backed space startup Pixxel set to launch 6 satellites from June

This comes almost a year after the Alphabet-owned company became part of a $36-million funding round for the Indian satellite-image startup

India's space industry over the moon after Centre eases FDI norms

Move will attract investments worth $5 billion in five years, say industry experts

Isro's GSLV rocket carrying INSAT-3DS meteorological satellite lifts-off

A Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle carrying a third generation meteorological satellite lifted-off from the spaceport here on Saturday. INSAT-3DS satellite aims to augment the study of the Earth's surface and oceanic observations. The 51.7 metre tall GSLV-F14 soared majestically from the second launch pad at the spaceport here, leaving behind thick fumes on its tail and soared towards the sky. It saw thunderous applause from spectators who had gathered at the gallery here since afternoon. The satellite weighing 2,274 kg would serve various departments under the Ministry of Earth Sciences including the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), ISRO said. This is the second mission for ISRO in 2024 after the successful launch of PSLV-C58/EXPOSAT mission on January 1.

ISRO successfully deploys magnetometer boom on board Aditya-L1 spacecraft

ISRO has successfully deployed the magnetometer boom on board the Aditya-L1 satellite to measure the low intensity interplanetary magnetic field in space. The six metre-long magnetometer boom is deployed in the Halo orbit at the Lagrange point L-1, on January 11, the space agency said, noting that the boom had been in stowed condition for 132 days since the Aditya-L1 launch. According to ISRO, the boom carries two state-of-the-art, high-accuracy fluxgate magnetometer sensors that measure the low intensity interplanetary magnetic field in space. "The sensors are deployed at distances of 3 and 6 metres from the spacecraft body. Mounting them at these distances minimises the impact of the spacecraft generated magnetic field on measurements, and using two of them assists precise estimation of this influence. The dual sensor system facilitates cancelling out the spacecraft's magnetic influence," it said. The boom segments are constructed from carbon fibre reinforced polymer and serve a

Pixxel to launch six home-built hyper-spectral satellites from June

Bengaluru-based space start-up Pixxel plans to launch a series of small, home-built satellites -- Fireflies -- from June that could have a finer look at the Earth with its five-metre resolution hyper-spectral imagery. Pixxel recently launched its satellite manufacturing unit -- Mega Pixxel -- in Bengaluru where it can assemble, integrate and test 40 satellites weighing 100 kilogrammes every year as the nascent company aims to take a leap in the space sector. "If you are looking at 100-kilogramme micro-satellites which are able to do a whole lot of stuff in terms of actual commercial viability, we can do 20 of them at a single point in time. The turnaround time from getting them assembled to ship-to-launch is about six months. That makes it 40 every year," Awais Ahmed, founder and CEO Pixxel, told PTI. Ahmed said Pixxel aims to launch six 100-kilogramme satellites, named Fireflies, by June, and add another 12 next year to monitor in over 250 spectral bands at five-metre spatial ...

Elon Musk announces launch of 'Starlink Direct-to-Phone' satellites

Starlink Direct-to-Phone satellites will provide mobile phone access anywhere on Earth and also a solution for areas without cellular coverage

OneWeb gets regulatory approval to launch satellite broadband services

OneWeb India is the first organisation to be granted this authorisation. Eutelsat OneWeb, the low earth orbit operator, is part of Eutelsat Group

Satellite TV broadcaster Dish TV India shares up 7.5% on settlement reports

Dish TV India, a direct-to-home broadcaster, is facing intense competition from OTTs and cable TV

Imaging satellites to AI healthcare: Nasscom recognises India's tech cos

The aim of these deep tech startups is to solve some of the world's most pressing challenges and address critical global issues

Trai without a chairman, satcom spectrum allocation to be affected

The rollout of satellite-based communication services by Bharti Enterprises -backed OneWeb and Reliance Jio will be affected by the delay in appointing Vaghela's successor

Skyroot unveils Vikram-1 rocket, set to launch satellites early next year

Space start-up Skyroot Aerospace on Tuesday unveiled its indigenously built Vikram-1 rocket which is expected to deliver satellites to low earth orbit early next year. Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh also inaugurated 'The MAX-Q Campus', the new headquarters of the start-up at the GMR Aerospace and Industrial Park at Mamidipally in South Hyderabad. Singh toured the Skyroot headquarters spread across 60,000 sq ft and billed as the country's largest private rocket development facility under one roof. Vikram-1 is a multi-stage launch vehicle with a capacity to place around 300 kg payloads in Low Earth Orbit. It is an all-carbon-fibre-bodied rocket that can place multiple satellites into orbit and features 3D-printed liquid engines. Planned to be launched in early 2024, Vikram-I will be Skyroot's second rocket, after the successful launch of the Vikram-S rocket on November 18 last year. Skyroot's new headquarters houses integrated design, manufacturing and testing facili

Amazon confirms plans to offer 'affordable broadband' through satcom

An Amazon spokesperson said that Project Kuiper (Amazon's broadband-from-space venture) will bring fast internet services to underserved communities around the world

Amazon launches test satellites for internet service to compete with SpaceX

Amazon launched the first test satellites for its planned internet service on Friday as a rival to SpaceX's broadband network. United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket blasted off with the pair of test satellites, kicking off a programme that aims to improve global internet coverage with an eventual 3,236 satellites around Earth. Amazon plans to begin offering service by the end of next year. Elon Musk's SpaceX has a huge head start over Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos, who has his own rocket company, Blue Origin. SpaceX flew its first test Starlink satellites in 2018 and the first operational satellites in 2019. It has since launched more than 5,000 Starlinks from Florida and California, using its own Falcon rockets. Europe's Eutelsat OneWeb also is launching internet satellites, with around 600 in orbit. Amazon originally agreed to put the satellites on the debut launch of ULA's Vulcan rocket. But with the Vulcan grounded by problems until at least the end of this year, Amazon

Amazon poised to launch long delayed satellites in race with SpaceX

It'll be the first in-flight test of Amazon's ambitious Project Kuiper initiative, on which it's pledged to spend more than $10 billion

Satcom gets a stronger player as OneWeb, Eutelsat Communications join hands

Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal will be the co-chair of the new entity while Shravin Bharti Mittal will be a director on the board of Eutelsat Group and Bharti's lead

Russia to help North Korea build satellites, says President Vladimir Putin

Kim arrived at Vostochny by train, after crossing into Russia early on Tuesday

Viasat Inc's $1 bn orbiting satellites risks upending space insurance

Viasat's troubles in orbit come a few years after big-name insurers like American International Group Inc and Allianz SE have shuttered their space portfolios