Space

Trump announces formation of new military space academy during Houston trip

US President Donald Trump announced the formation of a new military Space Academy and interacted with astronauts onboard the International Space Station, including Anil Menon, during a visit to NASA's Mission Control at Houston. "This is a great honour, to be with you is a great honour and I just want to thank Jessica, Anil, Jack - great Americans, great patriots, brave people," Trump said, making a call to the orbital laboratory from the Mission Control at Johnson Space Centre on Friday. NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway, Anil Menon, and Jessica Meir are part of Expedition 75 to the International Space Station. Trump called the crew a group of "pioneers" for their efforts in space exploration. After his brief remarks, Trump had NASA astronaut Anna Menon, Anil Menon's wife, and Duke Brady, Jessica Meir's husband, briefly interact with the ISS crew. "Hi, it's Anna. Great to see you guys up there. We love you guys. You're doing a great job," she said. The President also offered to welc

Isro's new trajectory: Pvt sector to take lead in building launch vehicles

ISRO will focus on research, frontier technologies and big-ticket missions as private companies and PSUs take on launch vehicle manufacturing and operational scale

Astronomers discover cosmic monster that is neither star nor black hole

James Webb Space Telescope observations reveal a mysterious object from the early universe that may be a black hole wrapped in a vast, star-like envelope of gas

Explained: India's new guidelines for planned re-entry of space objects

The guidelines establish a regulatory framework for entities seeking to intentionally bring satellites, launch vehicles, and other space objects back to Earth in a controlled manner

TakeMe2Space's PowerBank-50 becomes first India-made satellite battery

The made-in-India satellite battery-powered an experimental payload at an altitude of 450 km, validating its performance through launch and harsh orbital conditions

India's spacetech startups raise $871 million as private sector takes off

Skyroot's orbital launch and unicorn status prove policy reforms fuelled rapid industry growth

Starship troopers: Startups can further augment India's space ambitions

It is unusual for the first launch of a new rocket to be entirely successful. Skyroot will study the data and carry out at least two more test flights before going fully commercial

Isro targets 7 launches in FY27, next mission within two months: Chairman

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 rocket Vikram-1 lifts off from Sriharikota

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's Vikram-1 launch a test of India's private sector space ambitions

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 Isro is seeing more exits and what it could mean for India's space push

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 gets IN-SPACe approval for 1,600-satellite LEO network

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

Skyroot targets Saturday launch of country's first private orbital rocket

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

KickSky Space Lab to launch third accelerator cohort in next 2-3 months

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

Nasa's Curiosity rover finds mysterious honeycomb-like structures on Mars

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

Former Isro chief S Somanath joins Agnikul ahead of crucial space mission

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's Anil Menon, two Russians blast off for 8-month space mission

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.

Space debris: Cosmoserve to test debris removal technology aboard Vikram-1

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

Rescue mission launches to save Nasa telescope that's falling back to Earth

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