Page 22 - Space

Telecom panel approves licence for setting satellite earth station gateways

The Digital Communications Commission, formerly Telecom Commission, on Thursday approved issuance of separate licence for satellite earth station gateways that connect space communications with land-based networks, an official source said. The Satellite Earth Station Gateway (SESG) permit holders will not provide any service directly to end customers and be levied a non-refundable one-time entry fee of Rs 10 lakh. "DCC has approved Trai recommendation of Satellite Earth Station Gateway," the source said. The SESG licence holder will be allowed to set up several SESGs to cater to the requirement of constellation based satellite service providers but would need to obtain separate permission from the DoT before installing each SESG. The SESG licence shall be valid for a period of 20 years from the effective date of the licence with a provision of renewal for 10 years. At present, the DoT is the licensing authority for telecommunication services, while the Ministry of Information and

Top headlines: Ola advances plan for IPO, Govt's FDI push in space sector

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ISRO's human spaceflight programme gets boost with Chandrayaan-3 success

The historic launch of India's third Moon mission, Chandrayaan-3 on-board LVM3-M4 rocket has given a major fillip to the country's first human spaceflight programme as the same launch vehicle with 'human rated' capability, would be used for the ambitious Gaganyaan mission. The Bengaluru-headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation is busy working on its flagship project, Gaganyaan, which envisages the demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of three members to an orbit of 400kms for 3 days and bring them back safely to earth, by landing in sea waters. According to scientists at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, here, the 44.3 metre tall LVM3 rocket which carried the Chandrayaan-3 on July 14, would be the launch vehicle with 'human rated' capability. The heavy lift launcher of ISRO, consists of three stages -- solid stage, liquid stage and cryogenic stage. For the Gaganyaan programme, LVM3 rocket is re-configured to meet the human rating requirements and has

62 of 111 lunar missions in last seven decades were successful: NASA data

Of the 111 lunar missions in the last seven decades, 62 were successful, 41 failed and eight achieved partial success, according to the US space agency NASA's database on Moon missions. India on Friday launched its third mission to the Moon, Chandrayaan-3, with an aim to soft land on the surface of Earth's only natural satellite. A successful landing would make India the fourth country to achieve the rare feat after the United States, China and the erstwhile USSR. According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the technically challenging soft landing on the lunar surface, which Chandrayaan-2 could not achieve, has been planned for 5.47 pm on August 23. Former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair said the success rate of lunar missions is nearly 50 per cent because of the uncertainties when the rockets leave Earth's gravitational field. "The influence of other planets, from the Sun, is quite a bit. A lot of radiation conditions exist in space and this leaves some equipment or

Chandrayaan-3 LIVE: India has taken lead in space tech, says Jitender Singh

'Fat boy' LVM3-M4 rocket will carry Chandrayaan-3 on Friday as part of the country's ambitious moon mission

India to make second Moon landing attempt today as space race heats up

The Chandrayaan-3 is scheduled to blast off at 2:35 p.m. local time Friday from India's main spaceport on Sriharikota, an island off the southern state of Andhra Pradesh

NASA CHAPEA 1 mission: Locked volunteers inside Mars simulator for 378 days

NASA began its ambitious mission by locking four volunteers inside a Mars simulator, CHAPEA 1 for 378 days. It is one of the three simulators that volunteers will have to experience in the future

Isro eyes 29 primary, 16 auxiliary facilities for solid motor advancement

A group of vital facilities essential for the enhancement of solid motor realisation was inaugurated at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR) at the spaceport of Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh by Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation and Secretary in the Department of Space, Somanath S, on Wednesday. SDSC-SHAR is responsible for the development of solid motors/segments for ISRO's launch vehicles including PSLV, GSLV, LVM3, and SSLV. "It aims at establishing 29 primary and 16 auxiliary facilities to bolster solid propellant processing capabilities striving to achieve 2X improvement in its capacity", the Bengaluru-headquartered national space agency said in a statement. Commencing the first phase of this initiative, today's inauguration unveiled five key facilities dedicated to solid propellant mixing, casting, machining, as well as the non-destructive testing of cast segments, it was stated. Director of SDSC-SHAR, A Rajarajan, and Directors from other ISRO Centres/Units

India made quantum jump in field of space in last 9 years: Jitendra Singh

India has made a quantum jump in the field of space in the last nine years, and efforts have been made to diversify the applications of space, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Thursday. He said the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has painstakingly made an effort to diversify the applications of space. "Space technology has virtually entered every household in one way or the other," the Minister of State for Space told the fourth edition of the G20 Space Economy Leaders Meeting (SELM), under G20 Presidency of India, here. "...in the last 8-9 years, under Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, India has actually made a quantum jump (in the field of space)...," Singh said. In the last three years after reforms were introduced in the space sector, India now has more than 140 active and successful startups in this field, the Minister said. Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Education, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant, Secretary in the Department of Space and ...

India's space prog to transform planet's connection to final frontier: NYT

Hailing India's ambitious space programme, The New York Times has said the country, currently home to about 140 registered space-tech start-ups, "stands to transform the planet's connection to the final frontier" and can emerge as a "counterweight" to China. "When it launched its first rocket in 1963, India was a poor country pursuing the world's most cutting-edge technology. That projectile, its nose cone wheeled to the launchpad by a bicycle, put a small payload 124 miles above the Earth. India was barely pretending to keep up with the US and the Soviet Union. In today's space race, India has found much surer footing, the NYT article said. The article titled 'The Surprising Striver in the World's Space Business' notes that India has become home to at least 140 registered space-tech start-ups, comprising a local research field that stands to transform the planet's connection to the final frontier." "The start-ups' growth has been explosive, leaping from five when the pandemic ...

India, France launch Strategic Space Dialogue to strengthen partnership

India and France have launched the Strategic Space Dialogue, seeking to further deepen their nearly-six-decade-old partnership in the sector. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the inaugural India-France Strategic Space Dialogue was held in Paris on Monday. Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra led the Indian delegation for the talks with French Secretary-General, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs Anne-Marie Descotes. The nearly-six-decade-old Indo-French space partnership spans collaborations in technologies for satellite launches, research, operational applications, innovation and NewSpace partnerships for deep space exploration. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) have been partnering in the fields of space medicine, astronaut health monitoring, life support, radiation protection, space debris protection and personal hygiene systems. Earlier this month, CNES President Philippe Baptiste travelled to

Musk, Tata & Mittal on one side, Ambani on other for satellite spectrum

Elon Musk wants his Starlink to beam down wireless internet in India from satellites orbiting the earth, but the licensing regime his group favours has put him at odds with Mukesh Ambani's Reliance. After meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York last week, Musk on June 21 said he was keen to launch Starlink in India that "can be incredibly helpful" in bringing the internet to remote villages that lack on-ground infrastructure. But Starlink wants India to just assign a license for the service and not insist on auctioning the signal-carrying spectrum or airwaves. This stand finds Musk on the side of Tatas, Sunil Bharti Mittal's firm, and Amazon, who too prefer the same route. But Ambani's Reliance says there must be an auction of spectrum for foreign satellite service providers to offer voice and data services to provide a level playing field to traditional telecom players who offer the same services using airwaves bought in government auctions. "India's space-based ...

India to sign Artemis Accords, send joint mission to ISS, says White House

India has decided to join the Artemis Accords, which brings like-minded countries together on civil space exploration, and NASA and ISRO have agreed to a joint mission to the International Space Station in 2024, the White House said Thursday. On space, we will be able to announce that India is signing the Artemis Accords, which advance a common vision for space exploration for the benefit of all humankind, a senior administration official said hours before the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden in the Oval Office. Grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 (OST), the Artemis Accords are a non-binding set of principles designed to guide civil space exploration and use in the 21st century. It is an American-led effort to return humans to the moon by 2025, with the ultimate goal of expanding space exploration to Mars and beyond. The official said that NASA and the ISRO are developing a strategic framework for human spaceflight cooperation this year. I

China sets record by sending 41 satellites to space by Long March 2D rocket

The number of Jilin-1 satellites has now increased to 108, completing China's first commercial constellation of more than 100 remote-sensing satellites

Announcement coming soon on 'Hava' rocket testing facility: ISRO Chief

Indian Space Research Organisation chairman S Somanath on Thursday said there will be an announcement soon about the space agency's testing facility with regard to the hypersonic air breathing vehicle 'Hava'. The space scientist, however, emphasises that ISRO was not focused on air breathing technology because it wants to deal more with space. Air-breathing engines are those that take in air from its surroundings in order to burn fuel, such as jet engines. It is therefore not suitable for space travel as there is no air/atmosphere in space. "We are also developing a new rocket 'Hava' to fly at a hypersonic speed for 200-plus seconds. You will also hear some announcements soon about our testing plant with the new fuel for air breathing," Somanath told reporters here. 'HAVA' stands for Hypersonic Air Breathing Vehicle with Air Integration System. Replying to a query on the progress made on air breathing technology, Somanath said ISRO is looking at it not as an immediate input for an

Nasa's telescope detects complex molecules in galaxy 12 bn light-years away

The unexpected discovery is assisting astronomers in piecing together answers to some of the universe's lingering questions

Indian scientists discover alien planet, 13 times bigger than Jupiter

The planet is 731 light years away from Earth and orbits its star once every 7.24 days, reports said

Quantum jump in space sector in last 9 years of Modi govt: Jitendra Singh

Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Friday said the space sector has registered a quantum jump in the last nine years of the Modi government. Addressing the India Defence Conclave 2023 here, he said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken several policy initiatives in the past nine years to encourage indigenous design, development and manufacture of defence equipment, thereby promoting "Atmanirbharta" in the defence sector. "As a result, there is a quantum jump in space sector in the last nine years which surpasses the progress made in the nearly six decades before that," said Singh, who holds multiple portfolios including the Minister of State for Personnel, Atomic Energy and Space. He said that in the last nine years under Prime Minister Modi, India has traversed unlimited "space", according to a Personnel Ministry statement. Singh said, Defence and Space sectors are intertwined and both of them got an enabling milieu from the Prime Minister for its faster and indigenous growth by .

Allocate satellite spectrum administratively to help space industry: ISpA

Industry body ISpA has requested sector regulator Trai to have comprehensive outlook and allocate satellite spectrum by administrative methods to help the nascent space industry grow and be globally competitive. Indian Space Association (ISpA) said that the Department of Telecom's (DoT) reference presupposes that satellite spectrum should be allocated through auction, while world over spectrum is allocated for satellite communication use through administrative process. "The terms of reference laid down by the DoT to Trai presuppose that the method of assignment of spectrum needs to be auctioned. This, we submit, brings a bias to the whole consultation process," ISpA Director General AK Bhatt said on Wednesday. DoT in September 2021, had sought recommendation from the Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on frequency bands, spectrum block size, reserve price and quantum of spectrum to be auctioned and associated conditions for auction of spectrum for space-based communication ...

Industry upbeat as space policy to raise private sector play, funding

More than 1,500 micro small and medium enterprises, over 140 startups and rising investor interest, the Indian Space Policy 2023 is set to be a fillip for the space sector