Page 18 - Space

Adtya-L1 spacecraft successfully escapes sphere of Earth's influence: Isro

ISRO said on Saturday the Aditya-L1 spacecraft has travelled beyond a distance of 9.2 lakh km from Earth, successfully escaping the sphere of Earth's influence. It is now navigating its path towards the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1 (L1), the Bengaluru-headquartered national space agency said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. "This is the second time in succession that ISRO could send a spacecraft outside the sphere of influence of the Earth, the first time being the Mars Orbiter Mission," it said. The ISRO said earlier this month the Aditya-L1 solar mission spacecraft has commenced collecting data which will help scientists analyse the behaviour of particles surrounding Earth. Data collected around L1 would provide insights into the origin, acceleration, and anisotropy of solar wind and space weather phenomena, it said. The launch of Aditya-L1 by PSLV-C57 rocket was successfully accomplished by ISRO on September 2. Aditya-L1 spacecraft carries a total seven different payloads

Aliens among us

A radical redefinition of life could help us find aliens beyond Earth and among us

Social media and private partnership: Looking at the changes at Isro

The stakes are high: the $400 bn global commercial space market is expected to be worth $1 trn by 2030, but at the moment India has only a 2% share - about $8 bn - which the govt wants to change

Eutelsat, OneWeb merge to create GEO-LEO space connectivity company

Eutelsat on Thursday announced the completion of a merger with OneWeb, creating the world's first geostationary-low earth orbit (GEO-LEO) satellite space connectivity company. The completion of Eutelsat Communications' all-share combination with OneWeb was announced following the approval of the Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meeting of Eutelsat shareholders, a statement from Bharti Enterprises said. Headquartered out of Paris, the merged entity will have Bharti Enterprises as its largest shareholder with a 21.2 per cent share. The Bharti Group is committed to being a long-term strategic investor in the Eutelsat Group, the statement said "Today we have created a company, which will bring connectivity to all people around the world and will help us achieve our mission of last-mile connectivity," Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises said in a statement. Sunil Bharti Mittal will be the Vice President (Co-Chair) and Shravin Bharti Mittal, who spearheaded

After success of moon mission, Isro eyes Venus, exo-planets: Chairman

After the success of the Moon mission, ISRO has set sights on unlocking the mysteries of dying stars and exo-planets some of which are known to have atmosphere and are considered habitable, Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman S Somanath said on Tuesday. Delivering a lecture organised by the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), Somanath said the space agency was also planning a mission to study the planet Venus, two satellites to study space climate and its impact on the earth, and conceptualising a project to land a spacecraft on Mars. He said the XPoSat or the X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite, meant to study bright X-ray pulsars or stars that are in the process of death, was ready for launch in December this year. "We are also conceiving a satellite called ExoWorlds, a mission for looking at exo-solar planets or planets that are outside our solar system and orbiting other stars," Somanath said. He said there were more than 5,000 known exo-planets of which at least 100 were .

NASA's first asteroid samples land on Earth after release from spacecraft

NASA's first asteroid samples fetched from deep space parachuted into the Utah desert Sunday to cap a seven-year journey. In a flyby of Earth, the Osiris-Rex spacecraft released the sample capsule from 63,000 miles (100,000 kilometers) out. The small capsule landed four hours later on a remote expanse of military land, as the mothership set off after another asteroid. Scientists estimate the capsule holds at least a cup of rubble from the carbon-rich asteroid known as Bennu, but won't know for sure until the container is opened. Some spilled and floated away when the spacecraft scooped up too much and rocks jammed the container's lid during collection three years ago. Japan, the only other country to bring back asteroid samples, gathered about a teaspoon in a pair of asteroid missions. The pebbles and dust delivered Sunday represent the biggest haul from beyond the moon. Preserved building blocks from the dawn of our solar system 4.5 billion years ago, the samples will help scienti

Discussion underway to ease FDI norms in space sector, says official

An inter-ministerial discussion is going on to further liberalise foreign direct investment norms in the space sector to attract overseas players and private companies, a top government official has said. The official said that there is huge scope for foreign companies to invest in India in this fast growing sector. The proposal to ease foreign direct investment (FDI) norms in the space sector is "under inter-ministerial discussion," the official added. However, the official did not disclose further details. Presently, FDI in the space sector is allowed up to 100 per cent in the area of satellite establishment and operations through government route only. After the touchdown by ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft near the moon's South pole, three G-20 countries have expressed interest in possible collaborations or partnerships with India in the space sector. In April, the government approved the Indian Space Policy 2023, that seeks to institutionalise private sector participation in

Isro's achievement has made every Indian proud: Om Birla on lunar mission

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday said the decision to mark August 23 as 'National Space Day' will inspire future generations to set high goals in life and to work hard to realise them. He also welcomed the naming of the footprint of Chandrayaan-2 on the Moon as 'Tiranga Point', and the landing site of Chandrayaan-3 as 'Shiv Shakti Point'. He felt that these names are a tribute to India's age-old heritage as well as a symbol of its scientific ambitions and efforts. In his opening remarks during a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the success of Chandrayaan-3 mission and other achievements of the nation in the space sector, he said the stupendous achievement of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has made every Indian proud and the nation's stature has increased at the global level. Noting that India has dedicated the success of Chandrayaan-3 to the world's scientific community and all of humanity, Birla said the valuable information sent by Pragyan rover from the Moon .

Aditya-L1 completes Trans-Lagrangian 1 Insertion, sends data from 50,000 km

India's first solar space observatory mission has successfully completed the Trans-Lagrangian Point 1 Insertion manoeuvre. The spacecraft has started sending scientific information

Launch of test vehicle mission for Gaganyaan in a month or two: Isro

The first test vehicle mission of India's ambitious maiden human spaceflight venture Gaganyaan to validate the crew escape system will be launched in a month or two, a key ISRO official said on Friday. According to officials of the Bengaluru-headquartered national space agency, it would be the first of the four abort missions of the Gaganyaan programme. The first test vehicle mission, TV-D1, would be followed by the second test vehicle TV-D2 mission and first uncrewed mission of Gaganyaan (LVM3-G1). The second series of test vehicle missions (TV-D3& D4) and LVM3-G2 mission with robotic payload is planned next. The crewed mission is planned based on the outcome of the successful test vehicle and uncrewed missions, they said. "...immediately what we are now targeting is to validate the crew escape system. In a month or two, the mission will take place from Sriharikota," Gaganyaan Project Director R Hutton said at an international space conference here. According to ISRO ...

New science techniques needed to better understand UFO: NASA report

NASA said Thursday that the study of UFOs will require new scientific techniques, including advanced satellites as well as a shift in how unidentified flying objects are perceived. The space agency released the findings after a yearlong study into UFOs. In its 33-page report, an independent team commissioned by NASA cautioned that the negative perception surrounding UFOs poses an obstacle to collecting data. But officials said NASA's involvement should help reduce the stigma around what it calls UAPs, or unidentified anomalous phenomena. At this point there is no reason to conclude that existing UAP reports have an extraterrestrial source, the report said. The 16-member panel noted that artificial intelligence and machine learning are essential for identifying rare occurrences, including UFOs. NASA "with its world-leading experience in these aspects is well-positioned to play a leading role, it wrote. At the one and only public meeting earlier this year, the independent team sele

Tax exemptions to space sector to help boost growth: Deloitte-CII report

Government measures such as tax exemptions and holidays for companies directly or indirectly engaged in space sector activities will help in further promoting the growth of the sector, a report said on Thursday. The Deloitte India-CII report also suggested to undertake a detailed study on the tax reforms for supporting the industry growth as well as making the end products fiercely competitive in the global market. "While the Indian government has started to provide tax impetus to the space sector, it needs to take more initiatives for tax exemptions/tax holidays/accelerated depreciation for companies directly or indirectly engaged in space sector activities, so that the benefits are available to the entire value chain and there is no embedded tax cost," it said. It added that an in-depth study on global initiatives and their impact on the sector and, benchmarking with India should be undertaken to further develop and outline additional initiatives and to refresh the Indian Space ..

NTPC Green Energy, Nayara Energy ink pact to explore green hydrogen space

NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL) has entered into an agreement with Nayara Energy to explore opportunities in the green hydrogen space. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between NGEL CEO Mohit Bhargava and Nayara Energy Head-Technical Amar Kumar on Monday in the presence of other senior officials of both sides, NTPC said in a statement. "NGEL and Nayara Energy have entered into an MoU today to explore opportunities in the green hydrogen and green energy space," it said. NTPC Green Energy Limited is a subsidiary of energy major NTPC. This collaboration is in line with NTPC's initiatives to develop hydrogen projects in India and aligns with the government's vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. NGEL CEO Bhargava said green hydrogen would be a crucial element of India's clean energy future, and with this partnership, the company will explore and implement cutting-edge technologies to produce green hydrogen. NTPC, under the Ministry of Power, is India's largest power utility h

SpaceX can't launch its giant rocket again until fixes are made: FAA

SpaceX must take a series of steps before it can launch its mega rocket again after its debut ended in an explosion, federal regulators said Friday. The Federal Aviation Administration said it closed its investigation into SpaceX's failed debut of Starship, the world's biggest rocket. The agency is requiring SpaceX to take 63 corrective actions and to apply for a modified FAA license before launching again. FAA official said multiple problems led to the April launch explosion, which sent pieces of concrete and metal hurtling for thousands of feet (meters) and created a plume of pulverized concrete that spread for miles (kilometers) around. SpaceX founder Elon Musk said in the accident's aftermath that he improved the 394-foot (120-meter) rocket and strengthened the launch pad. A new Starship is on the redesigned pad, awaiting liftoff. It will fly empty, as before. During the initial test flight, the rocketship had to be destroyed after it tumbled out of control shortly after liftof

Japan launches X-ray satellite, Moon Sniper lunar lander. Details here

Japan's Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) is taking a uniquely long route to the Moon and is scheduled to make a landing in four to six months

India's space economy to reach $40 bn by 2040: Minister Jitendra Singh

There were only four space startups in India in 2014 and that number has increased to more than 150 in 2023, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said here Monday, noting that currently, the country's space economy is valued at USD 8 billion and estimated to reach USD 40 billion by 2040. The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology shared the information as he inaugurated the S20 Conference under the aegis of G20 at Amity University here. He said India's presidency of G20 is a matter of immense pride and under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has attained remarkable achievements in science and technology. "In 2014, the country had 350 startups but today we have more than 1.25 lakh startups and 130 unicorns. Of the 1.25 lakh startups, 6,000 are in the unicorn sector itself which has transformed the landscape of innovation in the country," Singh said. He said the Global Innovation Index has also risen from 81 to 40, which is yet anothe

Aditya-L1 launch fires up funding prospects for private space companies

With solar mission's successful launch, they have a day in the sun

First earth-bound manoeuvre of Aditya L1 performed successfully: Isro

ISRO on Sunday said it has successfully performed the first earth-bound manoeuvre of the country's maiden solar mission, Aditya L1, from ISTRAC here. The space agency also said the satellite is healthy and operating nominally. The next manoeuvre is scheduled for September 5, 2023, around 03:00 Hrs. IST "Aditya-L1 Mission: The satellite is healthy and operating nominally. The first Earth-bound maneuvre (EBN#1) is performed successfully from ISTRAC, Bengaluru. The new orbit attained is 245km x 22459 km. The next maneuvre (EBN#2) is scheduled for September 5, 2023, around 03:00 Hrs. IST," ISRO said in an update on 'X', formerly Twitter. Aditya L1 was launched on Saturday from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The mission aims to study the outer atmosphere of the sun by placing India's first solar observatory at the Sun-Earth L1 point. L1 stands for Lagrange point 1, where the spacecraft would be stationed. The satellite started generating power after the solar panels were ...

Isro to provide next level of solar data to world with Aditya-L1: Prof

The PSLV-C57.1 rocket carrying the Aditya-L1 orbiter lifted off successfully from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh at 11.50 am today

G Kishan Reddy lauds Isro scientists for successful launch of Aditya-L1

G Kishan Reddy said that today India was thriving and progressing in the field of scientific know-how