India Space Mission

Countdown begins for Isro's commercial mission for European Space Agency

The countdown for ISRO's dedicated commercial mission, the launch of Proba-3 spacecraft of the European Space Agency (ESA) slated for December 4. began here on Tuesday. Wednesday's launch would be a technology demonstration mission. NewSpace India Ltd is the commercial arm of ISRO which would launch client vehicles and has secured the order from the European Space Agency for its latest mission. "The 25-hour countdown started at 3.08 pm on Tuesday and right now the preparatory works (for the launch) are going on," an ISRO official told PTI on Tuesday. Dubbed as the world's first initiative, the Proba-3 (Project for Onboard Autonomy) consists of a double-satellite in which two spacecraft would fly together as one, maintaining precise formation down to a single millimetre to study the sun's outer atmosphere. 'Probas' is a Latin word, which refers to 'Let's try'. The mission objective is to demonstrate precise formation flying and the two spacecraft - 'Coronagraph' and 'Occulter' would

Simulating extraterrestrial life: Isro's analogue mission begins in Ladakh

The mission's objective is to replicate conditions of living in an interplanetary habitat, tackling the potential obstacles that astronauts may face on future deep-space missions

Isro to launch electric propelled satellite in Dec: Chairman Somanath

India will test its home-grown electric thrusters to steer satellites to its desired orbit, a technology that promises to make spacecraft lighter and pack more punch, in December. Delivering the Sardar Patel Lecture at Akashvani, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S Somanath said the first Technology Demonstrator Satellite (TDS-01) using indigenously developed electric propulsion will be launched in December. The TDS-01 will also demonstrate indigenously built traveling wave tube amplifiers (TWTAs) that are integral parts of various communication and microwave remote sensing payloads on satellites. A four-tonne communication satellite carries more than two tonnes of liquid fuel which is used to fire thrusters to steer it from the launch orbit to the desired geostationary orbit. These thrusters are also fired to keep the satellite in the desired orbit, if it strays due to atmospheric drag or as a result of a pull due to the gravity of the sun and the moon. "A four to

India's space strategy: Harness data to capture market beyond SpaceX

Since February, India has opened its space sector to private players and created $119 million venture fund

Aurora in Ladakh validate India's space monitoring efforts: Astrophysicists

Ladakh's recent sightings of aurora, marked by reddish or greenish light in the night sky and usually observed in the far northern regions, is a validation of our efforts in space weather monitoring, a team of astrophysicists that predicted the activity about 48-72 hours prior said. The appearance of intense red-coloured light rays in the sky on the intervening night of October 10-11 was the latest in a series of recent auroral sightings -- previous ones occurred on those of May 11 this year, and November 5 November and May 10 of 2023. All-sky cameras of the Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) at Hanle and Merak in Ladakh captured the aurorae throughout the night. Dibyendu Nandi, head of the Center of Excellence in Space Sciences India (CESSI) at the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata, told PTI, "The aurora sightings are a validation that we are on the right track. It boosts our confidence to predict extreme weather events in space

Isro's Bharatiya Antariksha Station: 5-module design to take flight by 2035

India aims to establish the Bharatiya Antariksha Station by 2035, with a five-module design. The first module, BAS-1, will launch by 2028 to support future crewed missions

Nibe shoots for stars with Earth observation satellite constellation

Partners global giants to orbit India's space self-reliance

Isro chief S Somanath expects 20-30% additional increase in funding

Asked how much he expected funding to increase, Somanath said "something like an additional 20-30 per cent", though "over a long period of time"

1st National Space Day: A look at India's progress over the years in sector

"It is a day to laud the contributions of our space scientists. Our Government has taken a series of futuristic decisions relating to this sector and we will do even more," says PM Narendra Modi

'PM wanted to spread scientific knowledge to young gen': ISRO scientists

India is celebrating its first-ever National Space Day to mark the anniversary of the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 mission.Senior ISRO scientists shared their experiences with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, particularly during the Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3 missions.B N Ramakrishna, Director, ISRO Telemetry, Tracking & Command Network (ISTRAC) told ANI, "Chandrayaan-2 was another big mission, which we were all aiming to land, soft landing at the moon (on) South pole. So that time when Modiji had come... we had made a lot of arrangements at...The most important point, I would like to bring here is he wanted to spread the scientific knowledge to the younger generation."He recalled they had arranged for two or three children from each state to witness this landing event."So we had arranged the children from all over the India. I think from each state there were two or three students who had come to ISTRAC Bengaluru to watch this landing event... We had made good ...

PM Modi, HM Amit Shah extend greetings on first National Space Day

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday greeted people on the first National Space Day, and said his government has taken a series of futuristic decisions relating to this sector and will do even more in the times to come. Modi had announced the celebration of the National Space Day last year following India's success in landing its first spacecraft on the moon on this day with the Chandrayaan-3 mission. He said on X, "Greetings to everyone on the first National Space Day. We recall with great pride our nation's achievements in the space sector. It is also a day to laud the contributions of our space scientists." "Our Government has taken a series of futuristic decisions relating to this sector and we will do even more in the times to come," he added.

Meet Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla, prime astronaut for ISS mission

Group Captain Prashant Balakrishnan Nair will serve as Shukla's deputy astronaut in the mission

Ladakh chosen for India's Mars, Moon research site to boost space program

Ladakh's cold, arid desert and rocky terrain mimics Martian and Lunar landscapes, making it ideal for simulating extraterrestrial conditions

Isro, Nasa partner to send Indian 'Gaganyaatri' to ISS after August

India is preparing to send an astronaut to the International Space Station as part of a collaborative mission with Nasa and Axiom Space, Union Minister Jitendra Singh informed the Lok Sabha

Gaganyaan mission: Two Isro astronauts to begin Nasa training in August

The astronaut duo will start training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Texas in August this year; one of the two astronauts will join the upcoming Indo-US space mission to the ISS

Indian firm aims to launch 'space habitat' by 2027, in talks with SpaceX

Bengaluru-based AkashaLabdhi is designing a space habitat solution to accommodate six to 16 personnel, which it plans to launch by 2027

Chandrayaan's rover makes significant discoveries on Moon's south pole

The Chandrayaan-3 mission's Pragyan rover found small rock fragments scattered around the rim, wall slopes, and floor of small craters in the southern high-latitude landing area

India, Bangladesh vow to pursue collaboration in space tech, oceanography

India will extend e-Medical Visa facility to people from Bangladesh travelling to India for medical treatment

Superbugs in space

Sunita Williams' new workout buddy in space could reshape our understanding of microbial life and health

Union Budget 2024: What's ahead for India's space sector development?

The allocation for space department saw a modest 4 per cent increase, from Rs 12,545 crore to Rs 13,043 crore in the Interim Union Budget 2024