Recent 6 months news in Science

Bengaluru-based GalaxEye has launched “Mission Drishti”, the largest and heaviest privately developed Earth observation satellite (EOS) of India to date. The 190 kg satellite was launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket of SpaceX from California, USA. It is the world’s first operational “OptoSAR” satellite, which combines Electro-Optical (EO) sensors and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) on a single platform. This allows for 24/7 all-weather surveillance through clouds, rain, and darkness, providing high-resolution imagery at 1.5-meter.

It is to be noted that the EOS uses the NVIDIA Jetson Orin platform for onboard AI to process data in orbit for faster results. This mission is the first step toward a planned constellation of 8 to 12 satellites by 2029 to 2030 for real-time global coverage.

Pixxel has partnered with Sarvam to develop and operate the first orbital data centre satellite of India named “Pathfinder”. The 200 kg-class spacecraft is projected to be deployed in orbit by the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2026.

It is to be noted that Pixxel will handle the design, construction, and launch of the satellite, while Sarvam will integrate an AI framework to facilitate on-orbit training and inference through full-stack language models.

Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy has flagged off the flight hardware of “Vikram-1”, the first privately developed orbital rocket of India, from the Skyroot Aerospace Max-Q campus in Hyderabad to the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota.

Vikram-1 is a multi-stage launch vehicle designed to transport satellites weighing up to 350 kg into Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which covers the region from 160 km to 2,000 km above the Earth. The maiden flight, tentatively scheduled for June 2026, will be a demonstration mission to validate the orbital capabilities of the vehicle through the deployment of several CubeSats. It is to be noted that the mission is subject to final approval from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN SPACe).

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has launched the Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite–Earth Observation-3 (PRSC-EO3) of Pakistan onboard the Long March-6 rocket.

The mission, conducted from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in Shanxi, China, successfully placed the satellite into its designated orbit. It is to be noted that this marks the 640th mission of the Long March series of rockets.

NASA has unveiled the “Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope”, a wide-field observatory designed to survey the universe and detect exoplanets. The telescope is named after Nancy Grace Roman, the first Chief Astronomer of NASA who is known as the ‘mother of the Hubble Space Telescope’.

It is to be noted that the project, developed over 10 years at a cost of $4 billion, will be stationed 1.5 million km from the Earth. The system is capable of transmitting 11 terabytes (TB) of data daily to the Earth.

Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, has launched the BlueBird 7 communications satellite of AST SpaceMobile onboard the New Glenn rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The mission failed to reach the intended orbit during its third flight. It is to be noted that the New Glenn rocket is recognized as the first commercial rocket to reach orbit on its maiden flight in January 2025.

The Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) Pune, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), has commissioned an X-Band Dual-Polarization Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) at its High Altitude Cloud Physics Laboratory (HACPL) in Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra. This installation is part of “Mission Mausam”, a multi-year initiative of the central government to make India a ‘Weather-Ready Nation’.

It is to be noted that the radar is located at an elevation of 1,400 m in the Western Ghats and operates at a frequency of 9.45 GHz. Additionally, IITM has signed an MoU with the Space Applications Centre (SAC) of the ISRO to jointly develop satellite-based meteorological products.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh has laid the foundation stone for a new ₹75 crore state-of-the-art building at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) in Bengaluru. The 7-story structure will have a total constructed area of 1 lakh sq feet.

It is to be noted that the Union Budget 2026 announced the development of 4 world-class astronomical projects by the IIA, including the National Large Solar Telescope and the National Large Optical-Infrared Telescope.

Federal Express Corporation (FedEx), in partnership with the IIT Madras, has successfully completed the first-ever intra-city drone delivery flight trials in India, conducted in Bengaluru. The initiative was carried out under the research framework of the FedEx SMART Centre at the IIT Madras and implemented with Amber Wings, a deep-tech startup incubated at the institute.

The trials demonstrated that a 53 km road journey taking 60 minutes could be replaced by a 39-42 km flight route, reducing the transit time to 21 minutes.

Union Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia has released the revised guidelines for the Technology Development and Investment Promotion (TDIP) Scheme of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in New Delhi.

The scheme, with a total financial outlay of ₹203 crore for the period of 2026–31, aims to bolster the participation of India in global telecommunications standards. The initiative also focuses on accelerating innovation in Fifth Generation (5G) Advanced and Sixth Generation (6G) technologies.

The United States has launched a strategic plan to deploy nuclear reactors in space, including an in-space reactor in Earth orbit by 2028, a fission reactor on the lunar surface by 2030, and a military version by 2031.

It is to be noted that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is tasked to develop a mid-power 100 kilowatts (kWe) fission reactor to support lunar habitats, providing power equivalent to 80 homes on Earth.

The Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) has signed an MoU with Jumps Automation LLP under the C-DOT Collaborative Research Programme (CCRP) to develop a gamification platform for cybersecurity awareness.

The initiative aims to enhance the cybersecurity preparedness of individuals and enterprises through an interactive digital environment.

ISRO has successfully conducted the second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The test validated the parachute based deceleration and recovery system designed for the safe return of astronauts during re-entry and abort scenarios.

A simulated Crew Module (CM) weighing 5.7 tonnes (equivalent to the Gaganyaan G1 mission) was carried by an Indian Air Force (IAF) Chinook helicopter to an altitude of 3 km. It is to be noted that after its release over a sea drop zone, a sequence of 10 parachutes of 4 different types was deployed to reduce the velocity for a safe touchdown.

Meta Platforms Inc. has launched a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) model titled “Muse Spark”, marking the first release from its superintelligence team under the “Avocado” series.

Initially available on Meta AI platforms, the AI model is scheduled to replace Llama-based chatbots on WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and smart glasses.