Satellites

TakeMe2Space set to launch India's first AI laboratory in space

The mission will demonstrate real-time data processing in orbit, making space research more affordable and accessible

Satellite spectrum wars: No auction, foreign companies likely to benefit

Despite domestic telcos' insistence, earlier legal judgements have only called auction 'preferable' in the case of natural resources

Centre rejects satellite spectrum auction; Elon Musk says much appreciated

Earlier, Elon Musk had criticised Mukesh Ambani's auction proposal for satellite services as "unprecedented", while advocating for a direct licensing method of allocation

Pixxel hopes to deliver satellites for Indian Air Force by mid-2025

The Indian Air Force (IAF) may launch satellites procured from space start-up Pixxel by mid-2025, giving a boost to its capabilities to keep vigil on the country's borders and beyond. The IAF has signed a contract with the Bengaluru-headquartered Pixxel Space founded by young entrepreneurs Awais Ahmed and Kshitij Khandelwal of BITS Pilani, while they were pursuing higher studies. "We should have that satellite up in space before the end of 2025, but likely we are aiming at mid-2025," Ahmed said in an interaction with PTI editors here. He said the task of Pixxel was to manufacture the satellite and hand it over to the IAF, which will operate the spacecraft. "In the case of the Indian Air Force for iDEX, we are not concerned with what the operations are. The operations will be mainly for looking at borders, looking at illegal testing, illegal growth and things like that. But we are not going to be operating the satellite," he said. Innovations for Defence Excellence, an initiative o

Japan launches Earth observation satellite on its new flagship H3 rocket

Japan deployed an upgraded Earth observation satellite for disaster response and security after it was launched on a new flagship H3 rocket Monday. The H3 No. 3 rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Centre on a southwestern Japanese island and released its payload about 16 minutes later as planned, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, said during a livestream. The Advanced Land Observation Satellite, or ALOS-4, is tasked primarily with Earth observation and data collection for disaster response and mapmaking. It's also capable of monitoring military activity, such as missile launches, with an infrared sensor developed by the Defence Ministry. The rocket appeared to fly as planned, and JAXA is expected to give further details at a news conference later Monday. The launch was initially planned for Sunday but was delayed due to bad weather at the launch site. The ALOS-4 is a successor to the current ALOS-2 and can observe a much wider area. Japan will operate both

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

Taiwan pursues homegrown satellite network amid rising tensions with China

With Beijing's persistent claims over Taiwan and threats of military action, the need for an autonomous communication infrastructure is paramount

Satellite monitoring shows 27% glacial lakes in Himalayas expanding: Isro

More than 27 per cent of the identified glacial lakes in the Himalayas have notably expanded since 1984 and 130 of those are in India, ISRO said on Monday. In a statement, the space agency said long-term satellite imagery covering the catchments of Indian Himalayan river basins from 1984 to 2023 indicates significant changes in glacial lakes. "Of the 2,431 lakes larger than 10 hectares identified during 2016-17, 676 glacial lakes have notably expanded since 1984," it said. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said 601 of the 676 lakes have expanded more than twice while 10 lakes have grown between 1.5 to two times and 65 lakes 1.5 times. It said 130 of the 676 lakes are situated within India, with 65, seven, and 58 located in the Indus, Ganga and the Brahmaputra river basins, respectively. An elevation-based analysis revealed that 314 lakes are located in the 4,000-5,000-metre range and 296 above 5,000 metres. The glacial lakes are categorised based on their formation proces

Elon Musk's satcom firm Starlink may soon get approval from Centre: Report

The Digital Communication Commission, an inter-ministerial panel and the highest decision-making body of the DoT, is likely to address the Starlink case ahead of the Tesla chief's visit to India

Android 15: Google might allow two-way-messaging over satellite in Messages

Apple already has satellite connectivity on iPhones, but it is limited to emergency services. Google, on the other hand, might allow two-way-messaging over satellite in its RCS-powered Messages app

Russian Soyuz rocket with 3 astronauts blasts off to Intl Space Station

A Russian Soyuz rocket carrying three astronauts to the International Space Station blasted off Saturday, two days after its launch was aborted at the last minute. The spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Tracy Dyson, Russian Oleg Novitsky and Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus launched smoothly from the Russian-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan. The launch had been planned for Thursday but was halted by an automatic safety system about 20 seconds before the scheduled liftoff. The head of the Russian space agency, Yuri Borisov, said the launch abort was triggered by a voltage drop in a power source. The space capsule atop the rocket separated and went into orbit eight minutes after the launch and began a two-day, 34-orbit trip to the space station. If the launch had gone as scheduled on Thursday, the journey would have been much shorter, requiring only two orbits. Docking is now expected at 1510 GMT Monday. The three astronauts were to join the station's crew consisting of NA

China launches signal relay satellite for mission to far side of moon

The moon's near side always faces Earth. That means data transfers from the far side are impossible as there is no direct line of sight

Govt notifies FDI norms for space; move may bring in $44 bn by 2033

Industry expects $20 billion investment in the sector in 10 years

Google-backed space startup Pixxel set to launch 6 satellites from June

This comes almost a year after the Alphabet-owned company became part of a $36-million funding round for the Indian satellite-image startup

India's space industry over the moon after Centre eases FDI norms

Move will attract investments worth $5 billion in five years, say industry experts

Isro's GSLV rocket carrying INSAT-3DS meteorological satellite lifts-off

A Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle carrying a third generation meteorological satellite lifted-off from the spaceport here on Saturday. INSAT-3DS satellite aims to augment the study of the Earth's surface and oceanic observations. The 51.7 metre tall GSLV-F14 soared majestically from the second launch pad at the spaceport here, leaving behind thick fumes on its tail and soared towards the sky. It saw thunderous applause from spectators who had gathered at the gallery here since afternoon. The satellite weighing 2,274 kg would serve various departments under the Ministry of Earth Sciences including the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), ISRO said. This is the second mission for ISRO in 2024 after the successful launch of PSLV-C58/EXPOSAT mission on January 1.

ISRO successfully deploys magnetometer boom on board Aditya-L1 spacecraft

ISRO has successfully deployed the magnetometer boom on board the Aditya-L1 satellite to measure the low intensity interplanetary magnetic field in space. The six metre-long magnetometer boom is deployed in the Halo orbit at the Lagrange point L-1, on January 11, the space agency said, noting that the boom had been in stowed condition for 132 days since the Aditya-L1 launch. According to ISRO, the boom carries two state-of-the-art, high-accuracy fluxgate magnetometer sensors that measure the low intensity interplanetary magnetic field in space. "The sensors are deployed at distances of 3 and 6 metres from the spacecraft body. Mounting them at these distances minimises the impact of the spacecraft generated magnetic field on measurements, and using two of them assists precise estimation of this influence. The dual sensor system facilitates cancelling out the spacecraft's magnetic influence," it said. The boom segments are constructed from carbon fibre reinforced polymer and serve a

Pixxel to launch six home-built hyper-spectral satellites from June

Bengaluru-based space start-up Pixxel plans to launch a series of small, home-built satellites -- Fireflies -- from June that could have a finer look at the Earth with its five-metre resolution hyper-spectral imagery. Pixxel recently launched its satellite manufacturing unit -- Mega Pixxel -- in Bengaluru where it can assemble, integrate and test 40 satellites weighing 100 kilogrammes every year as the nascent company aims to take a leap in the space sector. "If you are looking at 100-kilogramme micro-satellites which are able to do a whole lot of stuff in terms of actual commercial viability, we can do 20 of them at a single point in time. The turnaround time from getting them assembled to ship-to-launch is about six months. That makes it 40 every year," Awais Ahmed, founder and CEO Pixxel, told PTI. Ahmed said Pixxel aims to launch six 100-kilogramme satellites, named Fireflies, by June, and add another 12 next year to monitor in over 250 spectral bands at five-metre spatial ...

Elon Musk announces launch of 'Starlink Direct-to-Phone' satellites

Starlink Direct-to-Phone satellites will provide mobile phone access anywhere on Earth and also a solution for areas without cellular coverage

OneWeb gets regulatory approval to launch satellite broadband services

OneWeb India is the first organisation to be granted this authorisation. Eutelsat OneWeb, the low earth orbit operator, is part of Eutelsat Group