ARIES, DRDO lab sign MoU to boost India's space situational awareness
Dehradun: In a significant step toward enhancing India's capabilities in space surveillance, the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, and the Instruments Research & Development Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun, which is a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at IRDE's facility in Dehradun.
The collaboration marks a significant step in India's efforts to enhance its space monitoring capabilities, aligning scientific research with national security objectives.
The MoU was signed by Dr Manish Kumar Naja, director of ARIES, and D Ajay Kumar, director of IRDE, in the presence of Dr Brijesh Kumar and Dr TS Kumar from ARIES, and Ruma Dhaka, Dr Sudhir Khare, Dr Manavendra Singh, Abhijit Chakraborty, and Bharat Ram Meena from IRDE on Tuesday.
The collaboration unites ARIES, a leading astronomy and astrophysics research institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), with IRDE, a DRDO laboratory specialising in electro-optical surveillance systems.
The MoU signed on Tuesday aims to leverage ARIES' advanced observational facilities, including the 3.6m Devasthal Optical Telescope and ST Radar system, alongside IRDE's expertise in developing surveillance technologies for ground, naval, airborne, and space platforms.
The partnership will focus on strengthening ground-based Space Situational Awareness (SSA) through several key initiatives, like utilising ARIES' observational facilities for monitoring and acquiring data on space objects.
This strategic alliance between two premier Uttarakhand-based institutions is expected to foster innovation in space surveillance and ground-based astronomy.
ARIES is a premier research institute in the field of astronomy, astrophysics and atmospheric sciences and hosts state-of-the-art national observing facilities including the 3.6 m Devasthal Optical Telescope and ST Radar system.
IRDE is a leading institution engaged in the design and development of Electro-Optical surveillance systems for the Armed Forces across ground, naval, airborne, and space platforms.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Revenge code? Ex-employee in Bengaluru crashes grocery app after layoff
A dramatic cyber breach at Bengaluru-based grocery-tech startup KiranaPro has uncovered a bitter truth in the digital economy of the present day—startups can be as susceptible to insider attacks as they are to outsider cyberattacks. What had seemed to be a sophisticated hack proved to be an act of corporate sabotage by an erstwhile employee who had been fired but still had access to important systems. The breach happened in early June 2025, soon after KiranaPro started layoffs due to financial stress. As per the company's leadership, including CEO Deepak Ravindran, the former employee was able to erase parts of the company's backend infrastructure, such as GitHub code repositories, cloud logs, and some AWS-hosted services. Most importantly, it became possible due to the lapse in revoking access credentials once the employee had made a mistake that costed them dearly. Although the extent of the incident was serious, the company has assured that customer information was not breached. Due to internal backups, especially those located locally by other employees, KiranaPro managed to recover most of its system. Internal operations were disrupted briefly, though no core customer-facing services were directly impacted, though. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like เทรดทองCFDsกับโบรกเกอร์ที่เชื่อถือได้| เปิดบัญชีวันนี้ IC Markets สมัคร Undo The company subsequently lodged a police report and launched legal action against the perpetrator. Security vulnerabilities meets financial stress Although the act of sabotage itself was headline news, the circumstances behind it provide a clearer picture of the dangers many startups ignore. KiranaPro was reportedly struggling with the late payment of salaries to current and former staff at the time of the breach. Although the company hasn't attributed the delay to the sabotage, the timing has raised eyebrows about how financial woes can feed internal discontent. The attack also highlights a rising but underappreciated threat across the tech sector—internal users with admin-level privileges and unresolved grudges. Insiders have an advantage over external hackers in that they know the guts of a system, its vulnerabilities, and where to do the most harm. In this instance, no sophisticated malware or phishing was necessary; only a set of credentials and a motive were enough. The initial assumption by the startup that it had been hacked externally introduced a time lag between finding the real cause. Forensic tests were not done before the team arrived at the conclusion that there was no involvement of an outside entity. The breach was completely homegrown. credit: instagram What do we learn from this? KiranaPro's experience is a case study in the consequences that result when HR procedures and cybersecurity measures do not intersect. First, deactivation of credentials at offboarding has to become business-as-usual, particularly for firms dealing in sensitive infrastructure. Second, multi-level authentication and real-time activity tracking by administrative users have to become business as usual. Third, isolated and encrypted regular backups need to be treated as non-negotiable assets rather than optional layers. Finally, there is the human element. Startups need to understand that financial slowness, communication breakdown in layoffs, and insufficient emotional intelligence in employee transitions can all be building blocks of a poisonous culture, one in which digital revenge will indeed be an outcome. KiranaPro might have restored its data, but the actual warning is elsewhere: in an expanding environment where technicality takes precedence over procedural protection, even a single mistake can be the source of a breach not from the outside but from within.
News18
2 hours ago
- News18
Ship Carrying 3,000 Cars Burns For Over 24 Hours In The Middle Of Pacific Ocean
Last Updated: Fires involving EVs on ships are hard to extinguish due to extreme heat and the risk of reignition, often causing blazes to persist for days despite suppression efforts A significant maritime incident occurred approximately 300 miles off the coast of Alaska when a cargo ship Morning Midas, transporting 3,000 vehicles, caught fire. Among these vehicles were around 800 electric cars equipped with highly flammable lithium-ion batteries. The intensity of the fire made it too dangerous to control, leading the U.S. Coast Guard to allow the ship to burn for more than 24 hours. The fire ignited unexpectedly on a vessel travelling from China to Mexico, prompting the crew to abandon ship. The emergency signal was sent just 15 minutes after smoke was first seen on Tuesday afternoon. With no means to combat the fire, all 22 crew members evacuated to lifeboats as the fire intensified. Fortunately, a nearby commercial ship rescued them. The Coast Guard explained that overheating lithium-ion batteries can explode and release toxic gases, making any firefighting efforts extremely hazardous for both the crew and rescuers. As a result, the burning ship was monitored from a safe distance while awaiting the fire to subside. Watch The Video Here Video from the U.S. Coast Guard shows the massive cargo ship that caught fire 300 miles from the Alaskan coast earlier this more: — FOX Weather (@foxweather) June 6, 2025 According to Reuters, smoke was first observed emanating from a deck loaded with electric vehicles (EVs). The specific brands of the vehicles on board remain unknown. Fires involving EVs on ships are particularly difficult to put out due to the intense heat they produce and the risk of reignition, which can last for days. The Coast Guard reported that both aircrew and a cutter ship have been dispatched to help manage the situation, with three vessels already present at the scene. Zodiac Maritime, the London-based company that owns the ship, stated that no firefighting vessels were nearby, and a specialised rescue team is expected to arrive at the spot. US agencies are set to investigate the incident. The Morning Midas had departed Yantai, China, on May 26 and was scheduled to arrive at the port of Lazaro Cardenas in Mexico on June 15, passing through major electric vehicle export hubs like Shanghai and Nansha. According to the International Energy Agency, over 60 percent of EVs sold in Mexico in 2023-24 were imported from China. According to the Reuters report, in 2022, a vessel transporting 4,000 luxury cars, including Porsches and Bentleys, sank near the Portuguese Azores archipelago nearly two weeks after a fire broke out. Fires on ships, especially container ships, car carriers, and roll-on/roll-off vessels, are a major concern for insurers. Incidents of this nature across all types of vessels reached their highest level in a decade in 2024, as reported by Allianz Commercial. Allianz highlighted in its 2025 safety and shipping review report that the risk remains substantial due to the large size of these ships and the complex challenges involved in firefighting and salvage operations. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from geopolitics to diplomacy and global trends. Stay informed with the latest world news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated!
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Reliance Infrastructure takes flight with ₹5,000 cr bet on aircraft upgrade business, ET Infra
Advt Advt Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals Subscribe to our newsletter to get latest insights & analysis. Get updates on your preferred social platform Follow us for the latest news, insider access to events and more. This strategic foray positions Reliance Infrastructure as India's first private sector company to independently execute a comprehensive aircraft upgrade programme without being the original manufacturer - a domain traditionally dominated by public sector units and to a company source, the company has already marked a significant milestone by successfully upgrading 55 Dornier-228 aircraft under a contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), in collaboration with US-based avionics firm awarded a contract for 37 aircraft, Reliance secured a repeat order for an additional 18 units following the successful execution of an earlier total value of the Dornier upgrade contract was ₹350 crore, sources upgraded Dornier fleet is operational with the Indian Air Force, Indian Navy, and Indian Coast military aircraft and helicopters having a service life of 30-40 years, regular upgrades - particularly of avionics, mission systems, and safety equipment - are experts estimate that lifecycle investments in upgrades and MRO can reach up to 200-300 per cent of the original acquisition cost of a the market for military aircraft and helicopter upgrades stands at over ₹5,00,000 crore annually, and is projected to rise to ₹7,00,000 crore in the next seven with a vast inventory of legacy platforms, offers a substantial domestic opportunity, especially as the armed forces modernise older fleets for next-gen Infrastructure is now looking to scale up its aircraft and helicopter upgrade capabilities, working with global partners to deliver world-class addition to the Dornier upgrade success, the company is also a key player in the performance-based logistics (PBL) program for Rafale fighter jets in India, in partnership with Thales of investments in this domain align with the vision of ' Atmanirbhar Bharat ' while tapping into a multi-billion-dollar global its growing portfolio and proven execution, Reliance Infrastructure is poised to become a major private player in the defence aviation ecosystem, bridging the gap between cutting-edge global technology and the operational needs of India's armed industry stakeholders and investors, Reliance's aircraft upgrade strategy represents a high-potential play in India's defence manufacturing and services sector, with scope for international collaboration and recurring revenue models.
