Space Technology

DRDO's high-speed rocket-sled test puts India in elite club of nations

The DRDO has successfully conducted a high-speed rocket-sled test of a fighter aircraft escape system at controlled velocity, validating some of the key safety parameters including complete aircrew recovery. The test has placed India in "an elite club of nations" with advanced in-house escape system testing capability, the defence ministry said on Tuesday. In a rocket-sled test, the system coupled with a rocket propulsion mechanism is run at a high speed on a pair of rails to simulate a moving aircraft in mid-air, a senior official said. Defence Minster Rajnath Singh complimented the DRDO, IAF, Aeronautical Development Agency, and HAL on the successful test. He described it as a significant milestone for India's indigenous defence capability towards self-reliance. "Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has successfully conducted a high-speed rocket-sled test of fighter aircraft escape system at precisely controlled velocity of 800 km/h- validating canopy severance, .

India on course to become superpower by 2047, says fmr ISRO chief Somnath

Former ISRO Chairman S Somnath said that India will be a "superpower" in 2047, with space technology and manufacturing being a supplier to the world. Somnath made these remarks during the inauguration of the 71st convention of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) here on Friday. He asserted that "science and spirituality can coexist, just as faith and reality complement each other", adding that our sages and saints explored mathematics, astronomy, metallurgy, architecture, and medicine, and that our spirituality embodies the insights of modern science. Somnath said that everyone knows that India is progressing, which is instilling a new confidence in the people. He said, "This is the first time that India is being viewed differently in the world, and this is possible because we are pillars of democratic stability." "Today's India is a youthful India, with 25 per cent of the population being young, and this will remain the case for the next 25 years, a position that is ...

PM Modi inaugurates Skyroot's Infinity Campus, unveils Vikram-I rocket

Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened Skyroot's 200,000 sq ft Infinity Campus in Hyderabad, calling it a symbol of India's NewSpace transformation

Private sector entry in navigation to boost India's vision 2027: Isro chief

ISRO Chairman Narayanan on Tuesday said he was pleased to see private companies stepping into the complex work of building navigation systems for spacecraft and defence, adding that their efforts would support PM Modi's vision of making India a developed nation by 2047. He noted that navigation systems are highly complex and critical, which ISRO alone could not develop. "When we talk about Viksit Bharat 2047, it is our responsibility to ensure no imports are required. Navigation is a very critical area, and ISRO alone cannot develop it. So I am extremely happy that in Thiruvananthapuram, Ananth Technologies has entered this field," Narayanan said. He was speaking to the media after inaugurating a Centre of Excellence in Navigation by Hyderabad-based Ananth Technologies, a company closely working with organisations like ISRO, DRDO, and BrahMos, at Kinfra Park here. According to Narayanan, the facility, which he personally inspected after the inauguration, is world-class and would ..

ISRO to launch US communication satellite on commercial LVM3 flight in Dec

ISRO would launch a US communication satellite using LVM3 on a commercial basis next month, the space agency's Chairman V Narayanan said on Monday. Delivering the keynote address on the occasion of 68th Annual Day celebrations of Indian Railways Institute of Signal Engineering and Telecommunications (IRISET) here, he also said the country's space programme would be on par with any other advanced nation in terms of launches, satellites and others by 2040. "Launch date is not yet decided. It will be next month. It is a communication satellite, we are planning to launch. A commercial basis communication satellite we are going to launch in our LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark - III), vehicle," he told reporters. It is not a collaboration with the US, but an American satellite which would be launched on a commercial basis, he said. According to him, the ISRO, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the helm of affairs, is working on a lot of programmes. Right now, 57 satellites are in orbit, an

Spacetech major Agnikul raises $17 mn in funding round at $500 mn valuation

The company will use this capital in scaling production units of aerospace and rocket components and advance its stage-recovery programme

ISRO successfully tests boot-strap mode start on CE20 cryogenic engine

The ISRO on Wednesday announced that it has successfully demonstrated the boot-strap mode start test of the CE20 Cryogenic engine, which powers the upper stage of the Launch Vehicle Mark -3 (LVM3) rocket. The test was conducted for 10 second under vacuum conditions at the High-Altitude Test (HAT) facility at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri on November 7, it said. According to ISRO, the CE20 cryogenic engine is already qualified for operation at thrust levels between 19 and 22 tonnes with a single start in flight and is cleared for use in the Gaganyaan missions. Under normal conditions, the engine ignition begins under tank head pressure, followed by a turbopump start up using a stored gas start-up system, the space agency said. For future missions, multiple in-flight restarts of the CE20 engine will be required for mission flexibility, towards multi-orbit missions. With the current configuration, each restart requires an additional start-up gas bottle and associated systems,

India fast emerging preferred destination in space sector: Jitendra Singh

India is fast emerging as a preferred global destination for space sector engagement and investment, Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said on Tuesday. Inaugurating the India International Space Conclave, Singh said India's space sector was undergoing a decisive transformation and the government's reforms have created an enabling ecosystem where talent, technology and investment can converge to shape the future of the space economy. Reforms introduced since 2019, including opening the sector to private players, establishing IN-SPACe as a single-window regulatory body and releasing the space policy in 2023, have helped India expand its role in the global space landscape, the minister said. He said the unlocking of the space sector has brought start-ups, students, industry and citizens into what was once a closed domain. Singh said that India's most significant contribution has been the application of space technology for governance and citizen welfare. Nearly 70 per ce

China's Shenzhou 21 docks with space station in 3.5 hrs, sets speed record

China announced Saturday that its Shenzhou 21 spaceship docked with China's space station with its latest three rotation crew at a record speed after its successful launch. The entire docking process lasted around 3.5 hours three hours shorter than the previous missions, according to China Manned Space Agency. The Shenzhou 21 spaceship took off as planned at 11:44 pm local time Friday from the Jiuquan launch centre in northwestern China. The three astronauts on Shenzhou 21 will enter the Tianhe core module of the space station. The crew includes pilot and mission commander Zhang Lu, who also was on the Shenzhou 15 mission to the space station two years ago. The other two are flying for the first time. Wu Fei, 32, an engineer, is the country's youngest astronaut to join a spaceflight. Zhang Hongzhang is a payload specialist who was a researcher focusing on new energy and new materials before becoming an astronaut. Zhang said the team would turn the space station into a utopia by d

European space push: Airbus, Leonardo, Thales join forces in €6.5 bn deal

Airbus, Leonardo and Thales will merge space businesses, creating a €6.5 billion company with 25,000 employees and cost savings of mid-triple-digit millions

GalaxEye to launch world's first multi-sensor EO satellite in 2026

This latest development underscores GalaxEye's commitment to revolutionizing the Earth Observation technology through its proprietary SyncFused Opto-SAR technology

Chabahar centre 93% complete, ready for satellite launch: Iran minister

The Chabahar centre, dedicated to medium-heavy liquid-fueled launch vehicles, is Iran's national space launch site and one of several bases currently under construction

Jeff Bezos sees data centres in space within the next two decades

Speaking at the Italian Tech Week in Turin, Bezos also compared the surge in artificial intelligence to the internet boom of the early 2000s, urging optimism despite the risk of speculative bubbles

India, US begin new era of space cooperation with Moon and Mars missions

India and the US signalled the beginning of a new phase of space partnership at a special event hosted by the Embassy of India in Washington DC, with officials and astronauts highlighting how decades of cooperation are now paving the way for missions to the Moon and Mars. An event, titled India-USA Space Collaboration: The Frontiers of a Futuristic Partnership, was held at India House on Monday and celebrated recent milestones, including the joint NASAISRO NISAR satellite and the Axiom Mission-4, which carried Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station. Ambassador of India to the United States, Vinay Kwatra, described the partnership as a dynamic platform for advancing scientific exploration, technology development and commercial cooperation. He said India's space programme has emerged as a global leader in cost-effective exploration, and joint efforts with the US could push the boundaries of human spaceflight in the decades ahead. Dr Karen St Germain, ..

From petri dish to payload: India's next Big Bang in future deeptech

Part II of this series shines the spotlight on India's audacious deeptech builders - startups engineering the country's future by tackling challenges too complex for conventional innovation

Suhora, Satellogic partner for exclusive Earth observation in India, Nepal

Suhora Technologies has secured exclusive rights to provide Satellogic's Earth observation data and services in India and Nepal under a multi-year, seven-figure deal

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

India's space startups team up to share skills and expertise, minimise risk

What stood out was the group's zero-cost bid. Though the government is offering up to ₹350 crore in financial support, these companies have opted to bear the entire investment themselves

PM Modi calls for 'deep space explorations' on National Space Day

PM Modi outlines India's space ambitions on National Space Day, including Chandrayaan-4, Venus Orbiter, Bhartiya Space Station, and Moon mission by 2040

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