The UAE is taking a significant step towards smart mobility by planning air corridors for air taxis and freight drones. This effort intends to promote sustainable travel, improve urban connectedness, and minimise traffic congestion. During the World Government Summit, the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) indicated that the mapping process and regulatory framework would be completed over the next 20 months. According to Saif Al Suwaidi, director general of the GCAA, these corridors are critical for seamlessly integrating autonomous aerial vehicles into the country's transportation sy
India has considerably increased the budget for its Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission to $2.32 billion, which includes the construction and operation of a national space station. Union Minister Jitendra Singh told parliament on Thursday that the country now expects to launch two crewed and six uncrewed missions by 2028. Gaganyaan is India's first human spaceflight endeavour. The mission's goal is to launch a habitable space capsule into a 400-kilometer orbit and return safely to the Indian Ocean by splashdown. Gaganyaan was originally budgeted at $1.1 billion and scheduled to have onl
Astronomers discovered "Quipu," the universe's largest known structure. It spans 1.3 billion light-years and is 13,000 times larger than the Milky Way. This result calls into question prevailing ideas of cosmic structure. Quipu, named after an ancient Incan measurement system, was discovered using galaxy cluster analysis. The paper, which is available on ArXiv, has yet to be peer evaluated. Previously, the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall held the record of 10 billion light-years, albeit its existence is still questioned. Unlike Hercules-Corona, Quipu is plainly visible in sky maps.
The UK government has committed a $25 million investment to boost satellite launch capabilities, with the goal of establishing Britain as a prominent player in the space sector. The funding, announced by Science, Innovation, and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle at the 17th European Space Conference in Brussels, would support the development of UK-manufactured rockets and attract global investment. Orbex, the sole UK-owned launch services company, is developing small and medium-sized rockets. Its first launches will take place from the SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland. The government's contrib
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched its 100th rocket from Sriharikota's Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), marking a historic milestone. On Wednesday, the navigation satellite NVS-02 was deployed atop the GSLV-F15 launch vehicle, marking a historic occasion. The 17th mission of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) blasted off from the second launch pad at 6:23 a.m. Nineteen minutes later, the domestic cryogenic-stage rocket delivered the 2,250 kg NVS-02 satellite to its planned Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). This is ISRO's first missio
The Indian Space Research Organisation's Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) has successfully launched the Crew Module for the Gaganyaan project's first uncrewed mission (G1). This is a significant milestone in India's pursuit of human spaceflight. The module was delivered to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on January 21, 2025, following the integration of its liquid propulsion system. The Gaganyaan mission is India's ambitious human spaceflight program, designed to demonstrate the ability to send astronauts into space. Before launching a crewed mission, ISRO intends to c
Prime Minister Narendra Modi complimented ISRO on its breakthrough feat in successfully demonstrating space docking with the SpaDeX mission. In a tweet, he praised the crew, describing it as a "significant stepping stone for India's ambitious space missions."Satellites SDX01 and SDX02 were successfully docked after being launched by the PSLV-C60 rocket on December 30, 2024. After perfect manoeuvres, they docked 475 kilometres above the Earth, making India the fourth country to master this complex technology, behind the United States, Russia, and China.ISRO methodically planned the docking pro
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) successfully launched MBZ-SAT, the region's most advanced satellite, which is named after UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum witnessed the launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Tuesday at 11:09 p.m. UAE time. MBZ-SAT, constructed entirely by Emirati engineers at MBRSC, weighs 750 kg and uses cutting-edge Earth observation technologies. It has a high-resolution imaging system, advanced electric jet propulsion, a
On Wednesday, Japan's ispace and the United States Firefly Aerospace successfully launched their moon landers aboard a SpaceX rocket from Florida, taking a huge step forward in global lunar exploration. Ispace's Hakuto-R Mission 2 is a follow-up to its unsuccessful lunar landing in April 2023, which was caused by an altitude mistake. Firefly's Blue Ghost is the third private lunar lander launched through NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada emphasised the partnership between private firms, describing the dual launch as a "symbol of growing co
Pixxel, India's first private satellite network in the developing space industry, will launch three of the country's six hyperspectral imaging satellites from California on a SpaceX rocket. The next three are expected to be deployed in the second quarter, and the satellites will be positioned in a sun-synchronous orbit at a distance of roughly 550 km. The launch is scheduled for Tuesday at 10:45 a.m. from the Vandenberg Space Force Base. Awais Ahmed launched Pixxel, a Google-backed business that intends to grow its fleet to 24 satellites in order to compete in the $19 billion satellite ima