Security has been beefed up at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh in the wake of credible intelligence that the high-profile place is under the radar of Pakistan-based terror groups.
'I don't think the government will sacrifice such a fine institution for monetary gains.'
'ISRO will not manufacture any launch vehicles. That will all be done by the private sector or public sector undertakings.'
'The Indian private space sector is no longer a high-risk bet; it is a highly bankable, globally competitive asset class capable of easing the global small satellite launch bottleneck.'
India's move to privatise PSLV rocket production through IN-SPACe has triggered debate over national security, ageing technology and the agency's role.
Buying a mature rocket technology gives companies the designs and hardware know-how, but not necessarily the decades of engineering wisdom needed to make it work.
There is no answer to the question of how IN-SPACe invited EOIs for ISRO's mature rockets and whether it was based on any government policy decision.
Nine employee associations at ISRO have written to Chairperson V Narayanan, seeking official clarification on the proposed transfer of manufacturing and operational functions to private entities. They raised concerns about ISRO's future role, employee consequences, and recruitment, following comments by IN-SPACe chairperson Pawan Goenka regarding ISRO's eventual exit from launch vehicle manufacturing.
ISRO has successfully launched EOS-05, India's first geo-imaging satellite, into a precise sub-geosynchronous transfer orbit using a GSLV rocket. This 2,367 kg satellite, the heaviest ever carried by a GSLV, will provide real-time imagery for applications in agriculture and disaster management from an altitude of 36,000 km.
It is about proving that the agency can still deliver when the stakes are high.
ISRO is developing a third launch pad at Shriharikota to accommodate heavier satellites and next-generation launch vehicles. The new facility will support both crewed and uncrewed missions.
'An instruction came from somebody in Delhi saying, "don't go with the launch".'
Andhra Pradesh will establish two expansive integrated space cities in Lepakshi and Tirupati, spanning around 33,000 acres.
Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla discusses the Gaganyaan mission and its potential to inspire other nations in space exploration, drawing on his experiences as an IAF test pilot and his time on the International Space Station.
Their message is blunt: Public scientific wealth should not be transferred at what they describe as 'throwaway prices'.capability, recruitment, promotional avenues and the voice of its employees.
'With Vikram-1, we take our biggest step yet towards a reliable, high-cadence launch programme built in India, for India and the world.'
Based on the broadcast visuals, a rocket expert said the failure appeared similar to the anomaly seen during the PSLV-C61 mission.
The Department of Space has directed that requests for voluntary retirement or resignation from Group 'A' Scientific and Technical personnel associated with the prestigious Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme and other important missions should not be accepted as a matter of routine.
The move follows a quiet visit by National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.
Here is the timeline of the moon mission as undertaken by the Indian Space Research Organisation.
'It is not economical to operate GSLV-Mk II due to its cost and complexity. Future launches to be managed with LVM3.'
A Spanish startup, Orbital Paradigm, claims its payload, KID, survived the failed PSLV-C62 mission and transmitted data, despite ISRO's silence on the matter. The mission, carrying 16 satellites, failed due to issues in the rocket's third stage.
A high-level committee investigating the failures of ISRO's PSLV rockets, which have impacted strategic satellite missions, has yet to release its report and recommendations, raising concerns about the future of the ageing launch vehicle.
While India's interplanetary ambitions remain significant, the current pace of financial and technical progress raises questions about whether the 2027-2028 timelines can be met.
The appointment comes as Agnikul prepares for Mission 02, a flight that will attempt, for the first time on Indian soil, the recovery of an orbital-class rocket booster and the extension of a rocket's upper stage into an on-orbit platform.
From a surge in startups to crewed mission preparations, 2025 marks a transformative year as India eyes $44 billion space economy by 2033.
ISRO Chairman V Narayanan announces ambitious space program goals, including landing Indians on the Moon by 2040 and launching the 'Gaganyaan' mission in 2027. The agency is also working on a national space station and uncrewed missions.
The two Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) satellites that the Indian Space Research Organisation is hoping to unite are at a distance of 1.5 km and will be brought much closer on January 11, the space agency said on Friday.
The next firing is planned for Tuesday between 2 pm and 3 pm. it said.
India will launch the PSLV-C56 carrying DS-SAR satellites from Singapore, along with six co-passenger satellites, from ISRO's Sriharikota spaceport on Sunday, July 30, 2023.
ISRO is set to launch its communication satellite CMS-03 from Sriharikota. The satellite, weighing 4,410 kg, will be the heaviest launched from Indian soil into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).
Indian Space Research Organisation scientists have carried out a new experiment on the indigenously developed C25 cryogenic stage of the LVM3-M5 rocket which successfully placed the Communication Satellite CMS-03 into the intended orbit on Sunday, said its Chairman V Narayanan.
India and the US on Wednesday marked their maiden space collaboration with the successful flight of a GSLV rocket that placed an earth observation satellite, jointly developed by the two space agencies, in a precise orbit.
The Indian Space Research Organisation on Wednesday placed in orbit seven satellites including Oceansat-2 within a span of 20 minutes, its first successful mission after the abrupt end of the ambitious Chandrayaan-I project.
Only three countries (United States, Russia and China) have successfully landed spacecraft on the airless lunar surface.
The Indian government has approved the construction of a third launch pad at Sriharikota, capable of sending heavier spacecraft into orbit. This new facility will support India's ambitious space program, including the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission and a lunar landing. The launch pad will be built at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre and is expected to be operational within four years.
'Today onwards, the onboard thrusters will be fired and Chandryaan-3 will be taken away from Earth for an eventful landing on Moon's surface on August 23'
The Indian Space Research Organisation's Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota will soon initiate the process of creating Third Launch Pad for human transportation into space, SHRC Director Chandra Datttan on Tuesday said during Republic Day celebrations.
'There's too much coincidence in back-to-back failures of missions critical to national security.'
ISRO sources said that with Sunday's mission, the agency has launched 62 satellites, one space recovery module and 37 rockets, making it a grand 100
