The punitive action on January 13 against four scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation in connection with the Antrix-Devas deal leaves many questions unanswered. It does however make it apparent that there have been lacunae in the functioning of one of India's premier scientific institutions, its commercial arm, and the overseeing body.
Taking action in the controversial Antrix-Devas deal, the government has barred former Indian Space Research Organisation chief G Madhavan Nair and three other eminent space scientists from holding any government jobs.
Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO's) heaviest rocket LVM3 will launch British start-up OneWeb's 36 broadband satellites from the spaceport in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota on October 23, marking the launcher's entry into the global commercial launch service market.
India's observatory will be the fourth in space, after the Hubble, Russia's Spektr R and Suzaku of Japan.
The number of Padma awardees this year is 89, which includes seven recipients each for Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan.
Its duties include experiments to further understand the lunar surface.
ISRO, through Antrix Corporation, has inked commercial agreements with EADS Astrium of Europe to jointly make and supply two commercial communication satellites.
Aditya-L1 is the first Indian space-based observatory that will study the Sun from a halo orbit around the first Sun-Earth Lagrangian point (L1), which is located roughly 1.5 million km from the Earth.
Shifting the focus to its next space odyssey after successfully placing a lander on the moon's uncharted South Pole region, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief S Somanath on Saturday said that the country's maiden solar mission Aditya-L1 is ready and will be launched in the first week of September.
Hailing the achievement of Indian Space Research Organisation scientists, Kalam told media-persons in Chandigarh that "they (ISRO scientists) have two major characteristics that is excellence in technology and creative leadership."
India would launch its first manned space flights by sending two astronauts in an orbit in a Russian spaceship in 2013, according to reports.
The arrest of Stewart David Nozette, a senior NASA scientist who played a key role in India's Chandrayaan-1, has shocked space scientists in both India and the United States.Nozette, who played a key role in Chandrayaan finding evidence of water on the moon, was arrested by the FBI on charges of spying for Israel. No important information regarding India's space research could have been leaked by Nozette, since he didn't have access to such data, said ISRO officials.
Film folk like Akshay Kumar, Chiranjeevi, Jr NTR and Sunny Deol congratulated the country and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on the historic achievement of Chandrayaan-3's landing on the Moon.
Isro says the controversial S-band spectrum deal is not the reason for the restructuring
'Removing Nitish Kumar prematurely risks unsettling both the alliance balance and parts of the social coalition that delivered this victory.'
Seeking to position India as a cost-effective destination for satellite-building and commercial launch services, Indian Space Research Organisation has forged partnerships with France-based 'EADS Astrium' and European space consortium 'Arianespace'.
The United Nations General Assembly, heeding to a call by Prime Minister Modi, had made a declaration in December 2014 to observe June 21 every year as IDY.
Indian Space Research Organisation has built a supercomputer, which is to be India's fastest in terms of theoretical peak performance of 220 TeraFLOPS (220 Trillion Floating Point Operations per second).
The Indian Space Research Organisation has begun the work on its next Rs 10,000 crore ambitious project the ''manned mission'' which will witness an Indian transported to space, Chandradathan, Director of Sathish Dhavan Space Centre said in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday.
India has completed a significant amount of work on next year's planned Mars mission for which scientific payloads have been short-listed, with formal government approval for the ambitious venture expected soon.
The controversial Antrix-Devas deal will now come under the scrutiny of a Parliamentary panel. Parliament's Committee on Estimates has decided to examine the allocation of S-band spectrum by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with special reference to the Antrix-Devas deal, an official said.
Rupani also praised Ram for his 'engineering skills' by having a bridge constructed between India and Sri Lanka.
The National Aeronautics and Space Agency on Thursday revealed that India's maiden lunar mission Chandrayaan-I spacecraft had traced water molecules on the lunar surface of the moon.
The police has stepped up vigil across Bengaluru after copies of letters threatening a terror attack were found at vital installations, including the Indian Space Research Organisation facility and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
India and Russia held discussions on the possibility of cooperation in space exploration, including missions to the moon and Mars. Russia's head of Federal Space Agency met the Indian Space Research Organisation chairman.
Former Indian Space Research Organisation chairman G Madhavan Nair on Monday said he would file an appeal under the Right To Information Act by Tuesday seeking reasons for blacklisting him from government jobs even as he reposed faith in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to revoke his ban order. "I will file the appeal on Monday or Tuesday (before the Central Information Commission)," he said.
Indo-French satellite 'SARAL', aimed at oceanographic studies, would be launched along with a mix of six foreign mini and micro satellites on board PSLV-C20 from the spaceport of Sriharikota on February 25.
Buoyed by the success of Chandrayaan-I, space scientists now plan to conquer new frontiers by sending a robot on moon in 2012 and a spacecraft to Mars the following year which will also see an Indian astronaut in space.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday attacked the prime minister on Indian Space Research Organisation Antrix-Devas row, questioning his "silence" and demanded that he must come clean as he holds the space portfolio while the Congress said that political parties should refrain from commenting on a "legal matter".
Picking holes in the high-level team report that indicted him in the Antrix-Devas deal, former Indian Space Research Organisation chief G Madhavan Nair on Sunday said it had "inconsistencies and inaccuracies" and attacked the Department of Space headed by his successor K Radhakrishnan for "cowardice" in releasing only "convenient portions".
Former Indian Space Research Organisation chief G Madhavan Nair and three fellow space scientists against whom the government has taken damning action in the controversial Antrix-Devas deal were "thrown out like garbage", said Prof C N R Rao, head of the Scientific Advisory Council to the prime minister.
India is all set to give the go-ahead for an ambitious mission to Mars, expected in November next year, a top Space Department official said on Saturday. "A lot of studies have been done on the possible mission to Mars," Secretary in the Department of Space and Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation K Radhakrishnan said.
Stanishev's engagements this week include a visit to the campus of Infosys Technologies Limited.
Central Administrative Tribunal on Friday dismissed former Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman G Madhavan Nair's plea, seeking quashing of the Centre's decision to debar him from holding government posts for his alleged role in the controversial Antrix-Devas deal, on the ground of maintainability.
The 436-kg EMISAT and other satellites would be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
"We propose to cover organisations like ISRO and arms deals under the purview of Jan Lokpal as they are important from internal security angle, besides the Prime Minister above all who will come under its jurisdiction," Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde, part of the 10-member Joint Drafting Committee on Lokpal Bill, told media persons in Bengaluru.
The Indian Space Research Organisation is set to achieve a breakthrough on January 10 with the launch of four payloads, including the Cartosat-2 satellite and a recoverable space capsule
Amid a row over irregularities in competitive exams National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and National Eligibility Test (NET), the education ministry on Saturday notified a seven-member panel headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Radhakrishnan to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through the National Testing Agency (NTA).
The law ministry has told the department of space to allow four Indian Space Research Organisation scientists "post decisional opportunity" to place their stand on its move debarring them from occupying any government position in future in the aftermath of the Antrix-Devas S Band deal.
"The level of education and knowledge being imparted by many colleges... they are not up to the mark. Instead of concentrating on quantity, these institutions should concentrate on quality," he told PTI in an interview.
