Kandula Jessie of the Zilla Parishad High School, Dhavaleswaram, is the only student from the State among 20 girls selected from across India; she completed 550 sessions across 21 modules for the programme and wants to be an aeronautical engineer
Through the initiative, the State government plans to unlock Kerala’s ‘space economy’ potential by encouraging private satellite manufacturing and launching enterprises to set up shop
China has unveiled its latest ambitious space-based computing network designed to process satellite data in orbit using AI before sending the results to Earth. Xingshu, or “Star Hub”, will eventually comprise around 1,000 satellites, according to Chi Nan, an optical communications professor at Fudan University. The network is being jointly developed by Fudan and Shanghai Xingshu Tiansuan Space Technology Co. It would offer on-demand, time-based computing services in orbit, allowing governments,...
A satellite that can provide 24/7 surveillance of a third of the Earth’s surface relies on a rare mineral whose global supply is dominated by China, a new study has disclosed. The Ludi Tance-4 01 radar satellite, powered by gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors, is the only satellite of its kind. It orbits 36,000km (22,000 miles) above the Earth and is able to stay in what is known as a geosynchronous orbit, which keeps it fixed over the same spot. This allows it to monitor both large areas of...
A Chinese researcher’s vision of serving spicy crawfish soup to astronauts on Mars became an unlikely symbol of Washington’s growing anxiety over China’s scientific ambitions at a US Senate hearing on Tuesday. Drew Endy, associate professor at Stanford University and director of bio-strategy and leadership at the Hoover Institution, said that last autumn he met a 20-year-old Chinese researcher from Shanghai at a scientific conference in Paris. Dressed in a large red crawfish costume, the young...
India’s first privately developed orbital rocket has given the country’s fledgling commercial space industry a long-sought proof point, but analysts say Skyroot Aerospace must now show it can launch regularly, cheaply and reliably enough to win customers in a crowded global market. Skyroot’s Vikram-1 rocket lifted off on Saturday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, carrying several customer payloads and in-orbit experiments on its...
In the early 1990s, the information technology boom and campus recruitments dealt a blow to ISRO which was then on an expansion mode
China’s first planetary defence mission appears to be far more ambitious than Nasa’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (Dart), according to a new paper outlining its plan to slam a spacecraft into an asteroid before 2030. Unlike Dart, a proof-of-concept that nudged one asteroid’s orbit around another, China is aiming for a more realistic planetary-defence test. It aims to directly alter an asteroid’s orbit relative to Earth, “or even break up its structure”, according to a team led by Li Mingtao,...
A single launch — crucial though it is — will not catapult Skyroot to success. The global small-satellite launch market is evolving and there are still considerable challenges, including domestic demand and market uncertainties
Skyroot’s Vikram-1 has made India only the third country where a private company has independently placed payloads in orbit. Here’s what makes the mission significant
SCTIMST and HSFC have signed an implementing agreement for initiating a PDF programme in Bioastronautics, which is the first programme of its kind in the country
PM Narendra Modi says successful launch will 'encourage countless youngsters to dream bigger and innovate fearlessly'.
India’s first privately built orbital rocket took its maiden flight on Saturday, its company said, marking a significant step for the South Asian giant as it eyes a bigger slice of the global space economy. The Vikram-1 rocket, built by Skyroot Aerospace and designed to carry small satellites into low-Earth orbit, took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota amid loud cheers. “Hello space, we have arrived!” Skyroot Aerospace said on social media. “Vikram-1’s Test Flight-1 has...
Skyroot’s Vikram-1 has made India only the third country where a private company has independently placed payloads in orbit. Here’s what makes the mission significant
The Department of Space has tightened resignation rules for scientists working on key missions such as Gaganyaan. Here’s why the government acted, what critics say, and what it means for ISRO
India's first space-tech unicorn Skyroot Aerospace successfully launched Vikram-1 on Saturday.
The primary objective of Vikram-1’s first test flight, named Mission Aagaman, is to achieve safe clearance of the tower, and gather maximum data throughout the ascent
Vikram-1 is a seven-storey-tall, multi-stage orbital launch vehicle built with an all-carbon composite structure and powered by in-house developed propulsion systems
Coastal observation research laboratory inaugurated at Andhra University’s Centre for Studies on Bay of Bengal
Vikram-1’s flight sequence, from lift-off to orbit injection, will cover 14 phases, and the total duration of the flight will be 15.46 minutes
Coastal observation research laboratory inaugurated at Andhra University’s Centre for Studies on Bay of Bengal
Vikram-1’s flight sequence, from lift-off to orbit injection, will cover 14 phases, and the total duration of the flight will be 15.46 minutes
If the future of humanity lies in the vast expanse of space, could humans actually perpetuate the species beyond Earth? As a team of Chinese scientists has discovered – the outlook is not very positive. The researchers used two of China’s Tianzhou cargo spacecraft missions to culture and study the differentiation of human reproductive cells in space. Early-stage human reproductive cells did not grow or develop nearly as well in space as on Earth, the team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’...
Private space launch company Skyroot Aerospace on July 16, 2026 announced that it will attempt to launch Vikram-1 from the space port’s first launch pad at 11.30 a.m..
China is developing an early warning system to spot asteroids that might smash into the Earth, according to the scientist leading the national mission. China planned to deploy multiple telescopes on the ground, alongside a constellation of satellites in orbit, state-run Science and Technology Daily quoted Li Mingtao, chief scientist at the asteroid monitoring and early-warning research centre under the China National Space Administration, as saying. None of the asteroids that had been discovered...
Mission 02 will fly a two-stage Agnibaan configuration in which the first-stage booster, after separation, will attempt a controlled descent and ocean recovery
In the high‑stakes space race between the United States and China, the decisive advantage could come down to a metal cap that few outside the industry have ever heard of: the propellant tank dome. An ellipsoidal bulkhead several metres wide but only millimetres thick, the dome must withstand extreme internal pressures, vibration and shock. The rounded, capsule-like end cap is also very difficult to mass-produce. Whichever country can make these components faster, cheaper and more reliably will...
We have put together stories from our coverage on science from the past two weeks to help you stay informed. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. China’s satellite engine smashes record, leaves US rival far behind China has tested a satellite engine with a record-breaking operating life, a key technology that could help propel the world’s largest communications, military and deep-space spacecraft into their intended orbits faster and more reliably. 2....
A US-Russian crew blasted off onboard a Soyuz spacecraft for an eight-month mission to the International Space Station.
NASA chief Jared Isaacman made a rare visit to the Russia-operated Baikonur Cosmodrome to witness the launch.
China’s successful recovery of a reusable rocket has sparked debate among aerospace experts over whether its unconventional approach could actually cut the cost of reaching space. On Friday, the country’s Long March-10B became the first orbital-class rocket outside the United States to return to Earth and be recovered intact. The rocket’s first-stage booster deployed four hooks as it descended and was then caught by a giant net on a ship waiting in the South China Sea. SpaceX and Blue Origin do...
Anil Menon, NASA’s first astronaut of Malayali origin, embarks on a historic ISS mission, conducting groundbreaking research in space.
'It is the first company to receive funding from the dedicated space-tech fund anchored by IN-SPACe and managed by SIDBI Venture Capital'
Thiruvananthapuram-based space-tech start-up’s launches in the coming months include NILA III, SAISI, COSPAR-1, and a lander module
China has become just the second country after the United States to achieve the controlled recovery of a reusable orbital space rocket. Friday’s successful capture at sea of the booster stage of a Long March-10B rocket after its maiden launch used a novel technique different from that of Elon Musk’s recently listed SpaceX and previous Chinese attempts. Instead of landing using extendable hydraulic legs, the rocket stage used its engines to position itself over a floating platform in the South...
To challenge the global launch market dominance of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, Beijing is adopting a coordinated, multi-company “wolf-pack” strategy fuelled by recent engineering breakthroughs in reusable rocketry. The milestones come as a wave of aerospace firms push to secure the capital needed to scale operations and capture global market share. According to exchange filings in Shanghai and Hong Kong, at least 15 commercial aerospace companies were now in the pipeline to go public. Among the...
After China became only the second nation after the US to achieve the controlled recovery of an orbital-class rocket booster, the spotlight has fallen on the domestic shipbuilder behind the design of the recovery platform. Following the maiden launch of China’s reusable Long March-10B rocket on Friday, the vehicle’s first-stage booster returned vertically and was caught by the Linghangzhe recovery platform, China’s first sea-based rocket recovery vessel to use a net-capture system. The platform...
The universe teems with planets, yet their origins and evolution remain among science’s most enduring mysteries. Theoretical astrophysicist Shigeru Ida of the Institute of Science Tokyo has spent more than four decades in this field – and is now bringing his expertise to China. Ida, a former president of the Astronomical Society of Japan, has led the Japanese Society for Origins of Life and Astrobiology since 2025, and is widely regarded as one of the world’s most influential planetary...
One of the tests involved separation of the ‘umbilical mechanism’ that serves as a link between the crew module, where astronauts live, and the service module that provides propulsion, says the agency
One of the tests involved separation of the ‘umbilical mechanism’ that serves as a link between the crew module, where astronauts live, and the service module that provides propulsion, says the agency
Legendary inventor Nikola Tesla’s dream of transmitting electricity wirelessly never became a reality on Earth. But more than a century later, Chinese scientists believe the concept could find its first practical application on the moon. Their proposal focuses on the moon’s south pole, where crater rims receive near-continuous sunlight while permanently shadowed regions nearby – believed to contain valuable “water ice”, or frozen water trapped on or beneath the lunar surface – remain in...
Japan’s Hayabusa2 fly-by of Torifune marks a leap in asteroid defence, showcasing the country’s growing space prowess and “goodwill science” role vital for protecting Earth from cosmic threats. The space probe, named after the Peregrine falcon in Japanese, successfully flew within 800 metres (0.5 miles) of the asteroid, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said on July 5. JAXA said Hayabusa2 performed as expected and responded to all instructions from land-based mission control, about...
China’s landmark recovery of a reusable rocket has ignited heated debate on social media, with reactions ranging from awe at the rapid pace of Chinese space development to speculation over a more intense space race with the United States. This comes at a time of renewed optimism around the satellite sector, as commercial demand for internet constellations skyrockets. China made history on Friday by becoming only the second nation to achieve the controlled recovery of an orbital-class rocket...
The US government published a fourth instalment of unresolved cases, promising to release more files on a rolling basis.
It follows similar landings of reusable rockets by US-owned companies SpaceX and Blue Origin.
Hong Kong and Macau are integral to mainland China’s ambitions to build a globally competitive commercial space industry, according to executives at Beijing-based commercial space company GalaxySpace, as it bets on the two cities to help take its technologies and services overseas. “We have come to realise in recent years that Hong Kong and Macau hold irreplaceable strategic positions and industrial value in the development of China’s commercial space sector,” Xin Yichun, general manager of...
China succeeded in recovering the reusable rocket used in the maiden launch of the Long March 10B on Friday. The 70-metre (230-foot) tall, 5-metre wide medium-lift rocket lifted off from southern China’s Wenchang space launch site at 12.15pm. Soon after launch, the first stage of the rocket returned vertically and was recovered via a sea-based net platform, according to state news agency Xinhua. The two-stage Long March 10B’s first stage is powered by seven YF-100K engines that burn kerosene...
The Philippines is preparing to create a military space centre by 2028, a move that could help Manila strengthen surveillance, communications and command across its archipelago and in contested areas of the South China Sea. But analysts said the ambition would be constrained by the technical, financial and manpower hurdles of turning space assets into military capability. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner Jnr said on Tuesday the initiative – which would enhance...
On July 8, at about 11:10 GMT, about 99 percent of the world experiences sunlight at the same time.
The sculptures were crafted using space-compatible materials, including stainless steel, 24-karat gold, pure silver, ceramic powder and carbon fibre particles, says Telangana’s Warangal-based international micro sculptor Ajay Kumar Mattewada
First demonstration of soft robotic capture in orbit using the technology that went from concept to flight-ready hardware stage in four months is to be undertaken
China’s Tianwen-2 spacecraft has captured its first close-up image of a near-Earth asteroid, revealing that the target is even smaller than anticipated – a factor scientists say will make the sample-return task “far more difficult” than previous Japanese and American missions. The probe captured images about 20km (12.4 miles) from asteroid 2016 HO3 during its approach phase, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced on Monday. It was close enough for the spacecraft to begin...
On July 6, Skyroot Aerospace announced that India’s first privately developed orbital-class rocket will be carrying six payloads
A Japanese space probe performed a fly-by of a near-Earth asteroid on Sunday, in a test mission for technology that could help protect the planet from space rocks. The fridge-sized Hayabusa2 was due to fly within 800 metres (0.5 miles) of asteroid Torifune, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) scientists said earlier, a trial run to see whether such a probe could deflect a potentially dangerous space rock away from Earth. The mission comes after Nasa deliberately smashed a spacecraft into...
Officials are searching for the origins of six pieces of space debris discovered on Forrest Beach in Queensland.
A state-of-the-art greenhouse gas monitoring instrument spearheaded by a Hong Kong university has officially commenced operations aboard China’s Tiangong space station, following its successful installation by the city’s first home-grown astronaut, Lai Ka-ying. The Multi-Spectral Imaging Carbon Observatory (Musico) – often dubbed the “Eye for Space” – will remain in orbit for at least two years, according to Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), which led the development of the...
ISRO is developing a solid motor based SOLVE as a test platform to carry out Integrated Parachute Tests for validation of deceleration system of Gaganyaan’s Crew Module under various test conditions.
While astronaut Shukla was in the Orbit, he went around the Earth 320 times and travelled a distance of about 1.4 crore kilometres during his stay in space
Hailing from Aldur in Chikkamagaluru, Awais Ahmed is among the leading young entrepreneurs in India’s private space sector
A three-armed spacecraft blasts into orbit to rescue a NASA telescope in danger of crashing back to Earth.
Nasa launched a robotic mission on Friday to try to prevent one of its ageing telescopes from burning up in the atmosphere, a complicated operation expected to last several months. The unprecedented US$30 million effort involves sending a robot to rescue the Swift space telescope that is currently falling towards Earth. If successful, the mission could pave the way for giving other satellites a second life. Initially scheduled for Tuesday, the robot’s launch was postponed due to weather and then...
China has tested a satellite engine with a record-breaking operating life, a key technology that could help propel the world’s largest communications, military and deep-space spacecraft into their intended orbits faster and more reliably. The upgraded engine, developed by the China Academy of Aerospace Propulsion Technology in Xian, can produce 750 newtons of thrust, according to Chinese media reports. The Chinese engine fired for 11,617 seconds – 3.2 hours – across five orbit-raising manoeuvres...
The new study has opened new avenues for understanding the formation of the ancient lunar crust
Hong Kong is positioning itself as a middleman in the fast-growing global space economy, senior officials and experts have said, noting the city can turn its financial markets, common law system and dispute-resolution capabilities into a commercial advantage. At the 2026 Colloquium on International Law on Friday, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok said Hong Kong’s “sharpest competitive edge” lay in professional services for commercial space. He added that the city was “exceptionally...
A Nasa-funded robot has blasted off to catch a falling telescope in mid-orbit and blast it back to safety before it burns up.
India’s first privately developed orbital-class rocket is all set for its maiden launch
The RAD-BAARG may be one of the clearest known radio signatures of a giant bow shock generated by a galaxy falling supersonically into a cluster environment, the researchers say
An independent legal group has proposed that Beijing designate Hong Kong as the country’s “space finance capital”, positioning the city as a gateway for commercial development of the sector under the national five-year plan. The Asian Academy of International Law also proposed in policy papers issued on Thursday that Hong Kong should enact a space asset registration and finance ordinance to provide legal certainty for the financing of such assets. The group pointed to Hong Kong’s key strengths...
A Chinese aerospace start-up plans to launch a rocket using carbon dioxide, the same compound that gives Coca-Cola its fizz and bite. Hunan-based commercial space firm Zhiyu Aerospace Technology announced on Monday that it was collaborating with another local tech company to apply “supercritical carbon dioxide cold-launch” technology to small launch vehicle systems. Z-Trak Space, as the company is also known, said the cutting-edge method could “truly achieve low-cost, high-frequency,...
Two NASA astronauts stepping outside the International Space Station to fix robotic arm.
With SpaceX completing the biggest public offering in history, Elon Musk’s reusable chemical rockets seem to be the only game in town for getting to space. But halfway around the globe, a little-known Chinese town tucked against the Tibetan Plateau could change all that. In late March, the government of the city of Ziyang said a research facility successfully tested a high-temperature superconducting navigation system, which they said was a breakthrough in electromagnetic rocket launch...
Chennai-headquartered Agnikul Cosmos and ICEYE, the world leader in sovereign intelligence from space, have signed an MoU to explore the potential to build, launch and operate Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) earth observation systems from India
China has hopes for a desert moss that it says could colonise Mars following a revival experiment inside a mini space laboratory that showed it was remarkably resilient, state broadcaster CCTV said on Monday. The plant, a highly drought-resistant species called Syntrichia caninervis, was revived after it was subjected to a series of extreme space conditions – including microgravity, intense radiation and severe dehydration – according to the report. Chinese scientists had previously established...
Nasa is racing to save an ageing telescope from falling back to Earth with a daring rescue mission. The US$30 million salvage operation gets under way as soon as this week with the planned launch of a robotic lifesaver. Nasa hired start-up Katalyst Space Technologies to boost the Swift Observatory to a higher orbit where it can continue hunting for some of the universe’s biggest explosions. A three-armed spacecraft built by Katalyst will chase after Swift once it takes off from an atoll in the...
China has leapfrogged the United States in a few mighty important sectors of space technologies: GPS-style navigation, spy-in-the-sky reconnaissance and even the ability to knock satellites out of orbit, according to a report from a US think tank. The report from the Washington-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said China had rapidly built a powerful commercial space sector under strong state backing and was narrowing the innovation gap with the US. “If the United States...