Latest news with #SpaceX
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Star trek, anyone?
With Shubhanshu Shukla and three others splashing down near San Diego aboard SpaceX's Dragon capsule, another trip to ISS has wrapped up. But, if anything, this only sharpens the itch many feel to get off Earth - this time not as astronauts but as tourists. If you want to know more about space tourism, tune into Out of Office's episode on the subject, Space Tourism with Matthew Weinzierl. In this episode, hosts Ryan Davis and Kiernan Schmitt talk to the Harvard professor whose research dives deep into the emerging space economy. The conversation spans suborbital joyrides with Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin's repeat civilian missions, and SpaceX's bold orbital forays - all signalling that space tourism is no longer just a billionaire's fantasy. Weinzierl offers a grounded take: space, he says, is not just an awe-inspiring frontier - it's also a place. A place where countries, businesses and ordinary people might one day live, work and create value. As he reminds listeners, the space economy is still an economy, shaped by supply, demand and market dynamics. The episode is a thoughtful primer on how this high-flying sector is taking shape, and what it could mean for businesses and society alike.
Kuwait Times
an hour ago
- Science
- Kuwait Times
Astronauts on SpaceX capsule return to Earth
LUCKNOW: Axiom Mission 4 pilot Shubhanshu Shukla's parents Shambhu Dayal Shukla (center) and Asha Shukla (right) with his sister Shuchi Mishra celebrate after the successful splashdown of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as they watch a live stream of its return to Earth from the International Space Station, at his alma mater in Lucknow on July 15, 2025. -- AFP WASHINGTON: A SpaceX capsule carrying astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary and the United States splashed down off the California coast Tuesday, completing Axiom Mission 4 and capping 20 days in space. The Ax-4 crew undocked from the International Space Station at 7.15 am EST on Monday (1115 GMT) for a 22.5-hour journey, landing in the Pacific Ocean at around 5.31 am EST (0931 GMT) on Tuesday. The capsule performed its de-orbit burn before descending toward Earth, deploying drogue and main parachutes ahead of splashdown. 'Thanks for the great ride. ... happy to be back,' Commander Peggy Whitson, an Axiom employee and former NASA astronaut, said after the splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego. Also aboard were pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. Axiom Space is a private company that organizes missions to the International Space Station, flying both wealthy individuals and, as in this case, astronauts sponsored by their governments. For the non-American trio, the mission marked a return to crewed spaceflight for their respective nations after decades-long absences. They launched from Kennedy Space Center on June 25 for what turned out to be a two-and-a-half-week mission, during which they conducted around 60 scientific experiments. For rising space power India, the flight served as a key stepping stone toward its first independent crewed mission, scheduled for 2027 under the Gaganyaan ('sky craft') program. Shukla held a video call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in what was widely viewed as a significant soft power moment. He recounted sharing the sweet dish gajar ka halwa with his crewmates aboard the station. This will be only SpaceX's second crew recovery in the Pacific Ocean. The first occurred in April with the return of the Fram-2 mission. SpaceX has since shifted permanently to West Coast splashdowns, citing incidents where debris from Dragon's trunk survived atmospheric reentry and crashed back to Earth. – AFP
NDTV
2 hours ago
- Science
- NDTV
Exclusive - 'Would Not Have Allowed Axiom Launch If Issues Weren't Fixed': ISRO Chief
New Delhi: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has returned to Earth after spending 18 days at the International Space Station. He became the second Indian after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma to go to space since 1984 and the first Indian to go to the space station. But the Axiom-4 mission, of which Group Captain Shukla was a part, faced multiple delays before its liftoff. One of the delays was due to a crack in one of the liquid oxygen lines, which was identified after ISRO - led by Dr V Narayanan - insisted on due diligence, a step that averted a major space disaster. The ISRO chief spoke to NDTV and said the Indian space agency would not have allowed the launch of the mission if the SpaceX team had not rectified the problem in the Falcon-9 rocket. How ISRO Averted A Space Disaster On June 10, a day before the scheduled lift-off, a liquid oxygen leak (LOX) was identified on the booster of the Falcon-9 rocket, but it was not fully repaired during refurbishment. Despite the leak, the SpaceX team decided to launch the ailing rocket, with four astronauts, including Shubhanshu Shukla, to space, but ISRO became aware of it and decided to put its foot down to ensure full correction. NDTV was the first to report that there was a leak on the Falcon-9 rocket, which was tasked to carry the four astronauts - Peggy Whitson from the US, Shubhanshu Shukla from India, Slawosz Uzananski-Wisniewski from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. Today, Dr Narayanan told NDTV, "The safety of Gaganyatri and the other three astronauts is a primary thing. We told them to correct the rocket, and only then will we authorise it. There were a lot of differences in our opinions. Based on our insistence, the launch was called off. After that, they located the leak point, and it was a crack, and everything was corrected. Because of that, it was a successful mission and we (ISRO) had a successful liftoff of the Falcon rocket; otherwise, there would have been a severe problem." "Based on the Indian education system, Indian knowledge and the ISRO team, we stopped and insisted on correction and as a team, finally it was corrected, and we ensured the safe liftoff," the ISRO chief said. The ISRO chief made a revelation in his interview with NDTV that the Indian space agency decided to put its foot down and said that if the problems are not fixed, it will not allow give its go-ahead to the mission because the "safety of astronauts is the primary thing". #NDTVExclusive | ISRO Chief V Narayanan said that they would have pulled out #ShubhanshuShukla from the mission if the cracks in the fuel tanks were not fixed prior to the liftoff @vishnundtv — NDTV (@ndtv) July 15, 2025 A highly qualified 13-member ISRO team, stationed at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, was not convinced by the "band-aid-like" solution of a 'purge' offered by SpaceX on the oxidiser line leak. The ISRO chief is a top expert on liquid engines and was part of the team that helped India build a cryogenic engine. He is aware of the risks of a liquid oxygen leak. The cracked portion was replaced after Dr Narayanan's insistence, and adequate tests were carried out on the health of the repaired system. Earlier, ISRO said, "During a follow-on coordination meeting between ISRO, Axiom Space, and SpaceX, it was confirmed that the liquid oxygen leak observed in the Falcon 9 launch vehicle has been successfully resolved." 'Working Hard To Make Gaganyaan Program A Success' The ISRO chief said that Shubhanshu Shukla is a Gaganyaatri (Indian astronaut) and part of the Gaganyaan mission - India's crewed flight to space. The team at ISRO is elated to see their colleague return from space after conducting several experiments at the ISS. The agency's chief said, "We are all working hard to make the Gaganyaan mission a success." "The Gaganyaan program was approved by Prime Minister Modi in 2018, and this development involves a lot of things. We have to make a human-rated launch vehicle, the orbital module, crew escape system, environmental control system, parachutes, the entire mission management, and the recovery studies," he said. The ISRO chief said they consulted Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma for the mission. In 2023, the Prime Minister felt the need to send one of the four Gaganyaatri to the space station, and then ISRO signed an MoU with NASA.
Observer
2 hours ago
- Science
- Observer
Astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary return from space station
LOS ANGELES: NASA retiree turned private astronaut Peggy Whitson splashed down safely in the Pacific early on Tuesday after her fifth trip to the International Space Station, joined by crewmates from India, Poland and Hungary returning from their countries' first ISS mission. A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying the four-member team parachuted into calm seas off the Southern California coast at around 2:30 a.m. PDT (0930 GMT) following a fiery reentry through Earth's atmosphere that capped a 22-hour descent from orbit. The return flight concluded the fourth ISS mission organized by Texas-based startup Axiom Space in collaboration with SpaceX, the private rocket venture of billionaire Elon Musk headquartered near Los Angeles. The return was carried live by a joint SpaceX-Axiom webcast. Two sets of parachutes, visible through the darkness and light fog with infrared cameras, slowed the capsule's final descent to about 15 mph (24 kph) moments before its splashdown off San Diego. Minutes earlier, the spacecraft had been streaking like a mechanical meteor through Earth's lower atmosphere, generating enough frictional heat to send temperatures outside the capsule soaring to 1,927 degrees Celsius. The astronauts' flight suits are designed to keep them cool as the cabin heats up. The Axiom-4 crew was led by Whitson, 65, who retired from NASA in 2018 after a pioneering career that included becoming the U.S. space agency's first female chief astronaut and the first woman ever to command an ISS expedition. She radioed to mission control that the crew was "happy to be back" moments after their return. A recovery ship was immediately dispatched to secure the capsule and hoist it from the ocean onto the deck of the vessel. The crew members were to be extricated from the capsule one by one and undergo medical checkups before the recovery vessel ferries them to shore, a process expected to take about an hour. Now director of human spaceflight for Axiom, Whitson has now logged 695 days in space, a US record, during three previous NASA missions, a fourth flight to orbit as commander of the Axiom-2 crew in 2023 and her fifth mission to the ISS commanding Axiom-4. Rounding out the Axiom-4 crew were Shubhanshu Shukla, 39, of India, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski, 41, of Poland, and Tibor Kapu, 33, of Hungary. They returned with a cargo of science samples from more than 60 microgravity experiments conducted during their 18-day visit to the ISS and due for shipment to researchers back on Earth for final analysis. For India, Poland and Hungary, the launch marked the first human spaceflight of each country in more than 40 years and the first mission ever to send astronauts from their government's respective space programmes to the ISS. — Reuters
CTV News
2 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Rogers launches satellite-to-mobile text messaging beta trial
Rogers Communications signage is pictured in Ottawa on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick TORONTO — Rogers Communications Inc. has launched a new satellite-to-mobile text messaging service, marking the latest step in its partnership with SpaceX and Lynk Global to eventually deliver full satellite-to-phone coverage across apps, data and voice service. The company said its Rogers Satellite text service, which also includes text-to-911 capability, is available to all Canadians regardless of their mobile carrier, through a free beta trial that will run until October. The technology uses SpaceX's Starlink low-earth orbit satellites and Rogers' national wireless spectrum to automatically connect cellphones in areas without cell service. Rogers said the satellites act like cell towers in space, providing a connection if there's a clear view of the sky. It's meant to help customers stay connected in some of the most remote parts of Canada and along rural highways. A coverage map posted online by the company shows its satellite service is available in Canada south of the 58th parallel — near the border of the three territories — excluding specific regions, 'in most outdoor areas where you can see the sky.' It cautions that satellite service, including text-to-911, may sometimes be delayed, limited or unavailable. The partnership with Elon Musk's SpaceX and Virginia-based Lynk was originally announced in April 2023. By December of that year, Rogers said it had passed a key milestone by completing a test call using Lynk's low-earth orbit satellites and its own wireless spectrum. Rogers president and CEO Tony Staffieri said Tuesday's announcement 'represents the next big leap in wireless connectivity.' 'We're proud to introduce this ground-breaking technology to help Canadians stay safe and connected in more places,' Staffieri said in a press release. The announcement also included positive feedback from organizations such as the BC Search and Rescue Association, the Search and Rescue Association of Alberta, and the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association. 'Rogers Satellite is a game changer for public safety in Alberta,' said Brian Carriere, president of the Alberta group, in the press release. 'This advancement improves our ability to respond faster and more effectively, ultimately saving lives and enhancing the safety of both the public and our SAR volunteers.' Rogers said it plans to continue to test and optimize Rogers Satellite services throughout the beta trial. Following the trial, Rogers Satellite will be included at no additional cost to customers on the Rogers Ultimate plan — currently priced at $85 per month — and will be available to others for $15 per month. Customers participating in the beta trial will receive a monthly $5 discount for one year. Telecommunications industry watchers have touted satellite connectivity as a potential solution for solving resiliency challenges, improving rural and remote connectivity, and increasing competition in the sector. In June 2024, the federal government launched a consultation into the expansion of wireless services through satellite technology, with then-industry minister François-Philippe Champagne hailing it as 'the next frontier where Canadians will be able to use their current phone ... to have absolute connectivity.' Champagne also said in an interview at the time that with natural disasters on the rise, satellite connections could serve as a backup when traditional networks go down due to power outages. Other Canadian carriers have been working to develop similar services. Telus Corp. said it successfully trialled mobile-to-satellite technology in late 2023 in partnership with Montreal-based telecom provider TerreStar Solutions Inc. and non-terrestrial network service provider Skylo. In September 2024, the federal government announced a $2.14-billion loan to satellite operator Telesat to help that company build its broadband satellite constellation, called Lightspeed. The government said Lightspeed would enable people in the most remote parts of the country, including in Indigenous communities, mines and forestry companies, to access cheaper, more reliable internet. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 15, 2025. Companies in this story: (TSX:RCI.B) Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press
