Space for Mains

Context: Australia has announced a new Defence Space Command Agency to counter the growing influence of Russia and China in space. Various Global Space Agencies: Spacecom – US Space Force. Defence Space Agency (DSA) – India Joint Space Command (France) Iranian Space Command (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force) Russian Space Forces (Russian Aerospace Forces) …

Militarization and Weaponization of Outer Space – UPSC GS3 Read More »

Context: Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos argued that US sanctions on Russia could disrupt the functioning of the Russian spacecraft that serviced the International Space Station. What is Russia’s role in maintaining the ISS? The International Space Station (ISS) is being developed with the help of scientists from five international space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, the Canadian Space …

International Space Station (ISS) : Russia’s role and impact of Ukraine crisis – UPSC GS3 Read More »

Evolution of Space Sector: Space race 1.0: The great space race of the 20th century started with the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik in 1957. It reflected the Cold War agenda in the space field and a test of their ideologies. Space race 2.0: This time, private players are taking the next leap for mankind and democratizing space usage …

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Context: The entry of the private sector into the space race brings new dimensions to the monetization of space technology. Private space tourism projects: Three important private organisations (Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and SpaceX) made huge investments in space projects. VSS Unity spaceship, with six people on board, recently took off from New Mexico and …

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Utility: Direct question can be asked on this topic. Prelims question can be asked. Low Earth Orbit (LEO): Positioning of Satellites: LEO satellites are positioned around 500km-2000km from earth, compared to stationary orbit satellites which are approximately 36,000km away. Latency: As LEO satellites orbit closer to the earth, they are able to provide stronger signals and faster speeds than traditional fixed-satellite systems. …

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Facts about Moon: The Moon is Earth’s only natural satellite and the fifth largest moon in the solar system. The Moon’s presence helps stabilize our planet’s wobble, which helps stabilize our climate. The Moon’s distance from Earth is about 3,85,000 km. The Moon has a very thin atmosphere called an exosphere. The Moon’s entire surface is cratered and pitted from impacts. The Earth and …

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NSIL: NewSpace India Limited(NSIL) is a two year old commercial arm of the Department of Space. In its first dedicated commercial mission Brazil’s Amazonia-I Satellite was launched. Initiatives by India for promotion of Space sector There is a potential explosion of market opportunities from space applications in the near future. Institutionalization of space commerce: Regulatory …

NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) : Analysis – UPSC GS3 Read More »

Global example of PPP in Space: Collaboration between SpaceX and NASA Launches of Crew Dragon Spacecraft Starlink internet relay satellites PPP in Space in India: Instances of rocket component outsourcing, hiring of vendors etc. The Indian government has opened up its space sector for private players officially, via a newly created arm i.e Indian National …

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Facts: Aim: To meet the growing demands of space based communication requirements of the nation and advancements in the relevant technologies for self-sustenance in areas of commercial, secured and societal communications. Key Highlights of the Policy: Authorisation for space-based communications: Only Indians may get authorisations from the Department of Space(DoS) for running a satellite-based communications service. Additionally, …

Draft Space Based Communication Policy of India, 2020 – UPSC GS3 Read More »

What is a space station? It is a spacecraft that is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time and can be used for other spacecraft to dock as well as capable of supporting crew members, the most commonly known being the International Space Station (ISS). International Space Station: It is a …

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