The archive

News archive

Every dispatch, feature and dossier published by the Space Exploration .IN newsroom.

Skyroot's Kalam-250 rocket motor firing horizontally on a test stand at ISRO's SDSC SHAR facility

Policy

Andhra Pradesh order allotted Skyroot 294.67 acres for Tirupati rocket plant

The September 2025 order set the land allotment rate at ₹5 lakh per acre and recorded a ₹400-crore proposal; Telugu360 reported Nara Lokesh citing the rounded 300-acre figure on August 25, 2026.

31 August 20263 min read

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope rises in front of the Sun during launch from Kennedy Space Center

Space observatories

Roman launches on Falcon Heavy and separates successfully

The space telescope left Kennedy Space Center on August 30, separated 31 minutes later, and is now beginning a three-month trip to the Sun-Earth L2 region.

31 August 20263 min read

Conceptual illustration of two generic spacecraft approaching each other above Earth along curved relative-motion paths

Space industry

InspeCity raises ₹100 crore for planned in-orbit servicing demonstrations

The Mumbai-area company says the pre-Series A round will support a staged set of inspection, rendezvous and docking demonstrations. The financing is reported; no reviewed source says those missions have flown.

30 August 20264 min read

Prime Minister Narendra Modi looking at a space-technology display with startup leaders in a meeting room

Policy

Modi meets 20 space-startup leaders, urging wider uses of their technology

The August 21 meeting put the private space sector before the prime minister, but the official account announced no new funding, authorisations, contracts or binding policy changes.

28 August 20264 min read

Conceptual illustration of satellites above India linking to a gateway and a generic mobile phone

India space policy

Starlink’s reported Gen 2 filing adds a constellation step in India

A reported application to IN-SPACe would seek authority to provide Gen 2 capacity in India, but it does not settle the separate spectrum and security steps before customer service can begin.

27 August 20264 min read

Launch

Second Vikram-1 first stage begins transfer to Sriharikota

The transfer starts a new campaign after July’s maiden orbital flight, but Skyroot has not announced a launch date or said that the next vehicle is integrated.

27 August 20264 min read

The encapsulated Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on a transporter at Kennedy Space Center at night, with the Vehicle Assembly Building in the background

Space observatories

Roman reaches Falcon Heavy hangar after fairing encapsulation

The observatory has completed flight-readiness review, entered Falcon Heavy’s payload fairing and reached the hangar for mating; NASA’s next formal go/no-go review is August 28.

26 August 20264 min read

International Space Station

Menon and Adenot install ISS spare antenna, completing deferred repair

The August 25 spacewalk finished the antenna replacement left incomplete a week earlier. NASA reported good initial power and data checks, while further testing continued overnight.

26 August 20265 min read

Conceptual illustration of communications satellites linking India to a ground gateway and rural homes

India space policy

India’s satellite broadband licences are not commercial launch approvals

Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite have licences and provisional spectrum for compliance work, but the government’s latest record does not put any of them into a nationwide consumer rollout.

24 August 20265 min read

Conceptual illustration of a lunar lander and rover near the rim of a dark south-polar crater, with Earth above the horizon

Lunar exploration

China postpones Chang’e-7 lunar south-pole mission beyond 2026 window

The lunar probe and its Long March 5 rocket had reached Wenchang’s launch area, but China says a launch-condition assessment means the planned window will not be used. No reason or replacement date has been disclosed.

24 August 20264 min read

Conceptual illustration of an orbital spectro-polarimeter measuring light from the disc of Earth

Planetary science

Chandrayaan-3’s SHAPE shows how Earth can stand in for an exoplanet

A new preprint reports the instrument’s in-orbit performance and whole-Earth spectra, while leaving the calibrated science analysis for later papers.

23 August 20264 min read

ISRO, IN-SPACe, NSIL and HAL officials holding the signed SSLV technology-transfer documents at ISRO Headquarters

Space policy

ISRO plans gradual transfer of mature rocket manufacturing to industry

PSLV and LVM3 transfer calls were already limited to private Indian entities. The change concerns who builds and commercialises mature vehicles, not an immediate end to ISRO missions or government launch work.

22 August 20264 min read