Page 13 - Space

Space industry demands tax exemptions, PLI scheme from Union Budget

Import holidays, GST exemption for components of launch vehicles, productivity-linked incentives (PLI) and government stepping in as a customer are some of the expectations of the private space sector from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as she presents the Union Budget next week. "More money for space related acquisitions, tax holidays, import holidays, and PLI scheme for space," Pixxel Space co-founder and CEO Awais Ahmed told PTI when asked about his wishlist for the budget. Industry bodies Indian Space Association (ISpA) and Satcom Industry Association (SIA-India) have sought greater government expenditure on the space sector in the form of an anchor customer for the nascent private sector. "ISpA calls for a commitment from the government to procure and adopt space technology solutions across various governance areas such as agriculture, disaster management, infrastructure planning and development monitoring, urban development, and remote area connectivity," ISpA director .

Webb Space Telescope's cosmic shot shows pair of intertwined galaxies

The Webb Space Telescope has captured a pair of intertwined galaxies glowing in the infrared. The observatory operated by NASA and the European Space Agency photographed the two galaxies 326 million light-years away, surrounded by a blue haze of stars and gas. A light-year is 5.8 trillion miles. The pictures, released Friday, marks the second anniversary of Webb's science operations. The neighbouring galaxies, nicknamed Penguin and the Egg, have been tangled up for tens of millions of years, according to NASA. They'll eventually merge into a single galaxy. The same interaction will happen to our own Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy in 4 billion years, the space agency said. Considered the successor to the aging Hubble Space Telescope, Webb is the biggest and most powerful astronomical observatory ever launched. It rocketed away in 2021 and underwent six months of commissioning, before its first official images were released in July 2022. It's positioned 1 million miles (1.6 mill

Decoded: What is Thirty Meter Telescope? Why is it significant for India?

The Thirty Meter Telescope, featuring a 30-meter primary mirror and advanced adaptive optics, aims to explore fundamental questions about the universe

Budget 2024: India's space sector eyes strategic allocations and incentives

Union Budget 2024: The space sector in India is expected to reach $44 billion by 2033. Industry leaders call for incentives to push private sector growth

China's Tianlong-3 rocket crashes into mountains after launch during test

A powerful Chinese rocket crashed after an "accidental launch during a ground test on Sunday due to a structural failure, a private company responsible for the rocket said. Space Pioneer, also known as Beijing Tianbing Technology, said in a statement that the Tianlong-3 rocket was unexpectedly launched during a static-fire test at a facility in Gongyi county in Henan province. Luckily it landed in a hilly area of the city of Gongyi and the company said there were no injuries as people in the area were evacuated in advance of the rocket test. The nine engines of the rocket, stated to be the most powerful in the country, fired in the afternoon on Sunday were lifted off because of a structural failure at the connection between the rocket body and the test platform, the company said. Space Pioneer is one of several private aerospace companies that are developing medium-lift, reusable rockets to help China assemble its satellite constellations comparable to SpaceX's Starlink. Residents

AWS launches accelerator programme to support space-tech startups

Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Friday launched a space accelerator programme to support 24 startups. Through the 14-week programme, AWS said it will support selected space-tech startups in the growth journey with expertise, mentorship, and AWS credits cumulatively worth up to USD 100,000. "It is a direct result of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement AWS signed with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) in 2023, to jointly support the growth and development of space startups in India," a company statement said. The programme, which the firm claims to be India's first-ever, is supported by T-Hub, an innovation hub and ecosystem enabler, and Minfy, an AWS Premier Partner. The startups selected for the AWS Space Accelerator: India 2024 program operate in a range of space segments such as spacecraft propulsion, orbital and launch vehicles, satellite imagery, geospatial applications, weather analysi

Nasa calls off a spacewalk after astronaut's suit observes water leakage

This is the second time Nasa has called off the spacewalk, after one had to be postponed when an astronaut reported discomfort in the spacesuit earlier this month

India, US working to train Isro astronauts at NASA's Johnson Space Center

India and the US on Monday said they concluded the Strategic Framework for Human Spaceflight Cooperation to deepen interoperability in space and are working toward commencing advanced training for ISRO astronauts at the NASA Johnson Space Center. A fact-sheet issued by the US and India after the iCET Dialogue between US National Security Adviser (NSA) Jake Sullivan and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said the two sides are also exploring opportunities to participate in the Lunar Gateway Programme. The Lunar Gateway Programme aims to build a space station around the moon as part of the collaborative Artemis programme spearheaded by the US. The fact-sheet said the talks between the two NSAs explored opportunities for India's participation in the Lunar Gateway Programme, as well as joint avenues for collaboration in other space technologies. The two leaders also exchanged views on securing a carrier for the first-ever joint effort between NASA and Indian Space Research Organisati

WATCH: Sunita Williams scripts history as pilot of maiden Starliner flight

Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams created history by becoming the first woman to fly on the maiden mission of Boeing's Starliner test flight to the International Space Station

Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams embarks on her third space mission

Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams flew to space for the third time on Wednesday along with a colleague, scripting history as the first members aboard Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station. Boeing's Crew Flight Test mission carrying Williams, and Butch Wilmore lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida after multiple delays. Williams, 58, is the pilot for the flight test while Wilmore, 61, is the commander of the mission. Williams also made history as the first woman to embark on such a mission. And it won't be her first entry in the history books. In 2012, during a prior trip to the International Space Station, Williams became the first person to finish a triathlon in space, during which she simulated swimming using a weight-lifting machine and ran on a treadmill while strapped in by a harness so she wouldn't float away. That came after she ran the Boston Marathon from the space station in 2007. Williams received her commission

Boeing's first astronaut flight called off due to last minute issues

A last-minute problem nixed Saturday's launch attempt for Boeing's first astronaut flight, the latest in a string of delays over the years. Two NASA astronauts were strapped in the company's Starliner capsule when the countdown automatically was halted at 3 minutes and 50 seconds by the computer system that controls the final minutes before liftoff. With only a split second to take off, there was no time to work the latest trouble and everything was called off. It was not immediately clear why the computers aborted the countdown. Launch controllers were evaluating the data, said United Launch Alliance's Dillon Rice. But it's possible the team could try again as soon as Sunday, depending on what went wrong. Technicians raced to the pad to help astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams out of the capsule atop the fully fuelled Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Within an hour of the launch abort, the hatch was reopened. It was the second launch attempt. The first

India's goal is to have $44 bn space economy by 2033: IN-SPACe chief

Space sector is expected to get $25 bn in investments in 10 years, says Pawan Goenka, chairman of the commercial arm of Isro

US envoy, Isro Chairman Somanath discuss space collaboration in Bengaluru

During his visit to Bengaluru, Garcetti also spoke with industry leaders and members of the American Chamber of Commerce India

SpaceX launches first batch of satellites for new US spy constellation

SpaceX is building hundreds of satellites for the US National Reconnaissance Office, an intelligence agency

Nasa again defers Boeing's Starliner crewed mission after helium leak

Earlier launch on May 7 was cancelled due to issue with space capsule's oxygen relief valve

Mission is to push Indians to see Majestic Blue Ball: Gopichand Thotakura

Thotakura discusses his aspirations for an orbital space journey to see India from the space, collaborating with an Indian space startup, and becoming an inspiration for many in the future

UNSC rejects Russia-backed resolution on banning weapons in space

The United States said Monday that Russia last week launched a satellite that could be part of weaponizing space, a possible future global trend that members of the United Nations Security Council condemned even as they failed to pass a measure against it. The Security Council resolution drafted by Russia rivaled one backed by the U.S. and Japan that failed last month. The rival drafts focused on different types of weapons, with the U.S. and Japan specifying weapons of mass destruction. The Russian draft discussed all types of weapons. The U.S. and its allies said the language that the 15-member council debated on Monday was simply meant to distract the world from Russia's true intention: weaponizing space. The culmination of Russia's campaign of diplomatic gaslighting and dissembling is the text before us today," U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told the council. Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, denied that his nation was trying to mislead the world. Backed by China a

Gopi Thotakura makes history, becomes 1st Indian to go to space as tourist

He was selected as one of the six crew members for the NS-25 mission, becoming the first Indian space tourist and the second Indian to journey into space

Space industry offers good opportunity for private players: Isro chief

ISRO Chairman S Somanath has said the Indian space industry is offering a tremendous opportunity to the private sector in the country as a new area of growth and development. He said the union government envisages the space sector in the country to become a 9 to10 billion dollar industry in the next 5-10 years from the current levels of 2 billion dollars. Somanath was speaking after unveiling the carbon reduction initiative of SFO Technologies, the flagship company of the NeST Group, in a function here on Saturday, a company release said. He also said that 400 private sector companies have benefited from the technology developed by ISRO for its various missions. Companies like SFO Technologies are well positioned to take further advantage of the new policy initiatives in the space sector by the government of India. "The Indian space industry is offering a tremendous opportunity for the private sector in the country as a new area of growth and development," the ISRO chief added. .

'Extreme' solar storm hits Earth: Rare red auroral arc graces Ladakh's sky

A crimson glow lit up the dark sky in parts of Ladakh in a rare stable auroral red arc event at the Hanle Dark Sky Reserve in the high Himalayas due to the strong solar magnetic storms launched towards Earth. The solar storms or coronal mass ejections are from the AR13664 region of the sun that has produced several high energy solar flares, some of which are travelling towards Earth at a speed of 800 km/s, scientists at the Centre of Excellence in Space Sciences in India (CESSI), Kolkata, said. Spectacular auroras or northern lights lit up the skies in the higher latitudes of the northern hemisphere as skywatchers from Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland, Denmark and Poland shared pictures and short videos of the dancing lights on social media. In Ladakh, astronomers at the Hanle Dark Sky Reserve saw a red glow on the northwest horizon in the sky from about 1 am on Saturday that continued till early dawn. "We were fortunate to witness Aurora activities on our all-sky camera dur