Page 2 - Space Technology

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

Turbocharging India: Assuming global economic leadership

Higher tariffs could render many Indian products uncompetitive in US markets and bring unfavourable repercussions to the domestic economy

In-space industry set to unlock multi-billion dollar mkt in manufacturing

In-space manufacturing uses the near-weightless environment of space to produce materials and products of superior quality

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

China's Tianlong-3 rocket cleared for commercial launch a year after crash

Chinese space tech firm Space Pioneer passes critical test of its redesigned Tianlong-3 rocket after a year of its launch accident. It has set a tentative launch date for July-August 2025

Shukla highlights exciting Indian-led research during Ax-4 mission

The group captain underscored the significance of the ISS as a premier laboratory for research and innovation, with his mission opening new avenues for Indian scientists

Suhora, OSK partner to put India on hyperspectral map, tackle key issues

Suhora Technologies has teamed up with Orbital Sidekick to introduce high-resolution hyperspectral satellite services in India, enabling the identification of rare earth minerals, methane leaks, etc