Launch Vehicle A launch vehicle, commonly known as a rocket, is the powerful vehicle that carries a spacecraft from Earth into space. Its primary job is to generate enough thrust to overcome Earth’s gravity and place the mission on the correct path. Once it has completed this task, the rocket’s role ends. What does it...
Category: Science & Tech
Space Exploration Day | Life at the International Space Station
In low Earth orbit can be found the International Space Station — a large laboratory where astronauts from different countries live and work together while circling Earth every 90 minutes. What began as a project involving the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada is today a strong symbol of cooperation among countries for the...
As BSF mulls 90-km Sundarbans fence, security clashes with ecology
Just a few months after the Border Security Force (BSF) explored the curious prospect of releasing snakes and crocodiles into rivers at the Indo-Bangladesh border to deter “illegal activities,” the security force has now initiated another controversial feasibility study for a colossal project to safeguard the area. This time, as The Hindu reported, it is...
Space Exploration Day | How are astronauts trained?
By way of our sharp fascination towards a spaceflight event when it happens, we tend to forget reading into the entire process that led to that moment. Process, in today’s ‘all-instant’ era, seems to lose value unless you are part of it. Going to space in a rocket and coming back sounds simply doable but...
‘Cruel, wasteful’: Dakar port a hotspot for illegal shark fins
In the high seas off west Africa, a fisherman on a Chinese longline tuna vessel cuts the fins off a live shark before throwing it back in the water to suffocate and drown. Its lucrative appendages will be landed at the port of Dakar before being shipped onward to Asia for use in shark fin...
That’s one small step for man…
“I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. U.S. President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961 Setting foot on the moon marked the fulfilment of a desire that had probably lasted...
As Vikram-1 reaches orbit, Skyroot faces a steep climb to business success
India had its first private orbital rocket launch at 12.05 p.m. on July 18. So far, all orbital rockets India had launched as part of its space programme had been state-funded and led by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace changed that by launching its small-satellite launch vehicle Vikram-1 to a low-earth...
What makes Skyroot’s Vikram-1 launch unique? | Explained
The story so far: The Vikram-1 rocket, built by the Hyderabad firm Skyroot, shot through the sky a little past noon on July 18, 2026. The seven-storey rocket lifted off ISRO’s First Launch Pad at Sriharikota and, a little over fifteen minutes later, placed its payloads in an orbit roughly 450 km above the earth....
A community for cosmic curiosity
A canvas of stars Some of the greatest works of art can be found in museums and galleries. But little do many know, the greatest piece of artwork can be found on the universe’s largest canvas: The night sky! It can be collectively agreed upon that the night sky is a mere window to the...
Vikram-1, country’s first private orbital-class rocket, successfully places tech payloads, postcards into orbit
India achieved a major milestone in its space journey on Saturday (July 18, 2026) as Vikram-1, the country’s first privately developed orbital rocket, successfully placed multiple technology demonstration payloads and postcards — including from Prime Minister Narendra Modi — into a low earth orbit. Dubbed ‘Mission Aagaman’ (meaning arrival), the mission marks India’s entry into...
