Government clears development of new communication satellite

September 23rd, 2009 SRIHARIKOTA - Happy with the successful launch of its first satellite, Switzerland hopes to launch its second Cubesat, which is under development back home, also from the space port here. "This is our first satellite and we are happy that it is launched successfully.

September 18th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and China Friday signed an agreement to build a communication satellite in the next three years, officials said. China will provide $200 million to Pakistan to build the PAKSAT-1R satellite.

August 31st, 2009 India abandons satellite after losing contactNEW DELHI — India's space agency has abandoned the country's only satellite orbiting the moon after efforts to revive communication with it failed, an official said Monday. Communications with the Chandrayaan-1 satellite, which has been orbiting the moon for nearly a year, snapped Saturday and scientists lost control of the satellite.

August 29th, 2009 India loses communication with lunar satelliteNEW DELHI — India's national space agency said communications with the country's only satellite orbiting the moon snapped Saturday and that its scientists were no longer controlling the spacecraft. Radio contacts with Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft were abruptly lost at 0130 Saturday (2000 GMT Friday), the Indian Space Research Organization said.

August 21st, 2009 ASTANA - Kazakhstan's first satellite KazSat-1 has been put into orbit for a "space burial", the country's mission control reported Friday. The $100 million communications satellite, built for Kazakhstan by Russia's Khrunichev Space Centre, was put into orbit about 36,000 km above the Earth in June 2006.

August 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Promod Kale was today awarded the Aryabhatta award 2006 for his outstanding life-time contribution to the promotion of astronomy in India. Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Prithviraj Chavan gave the award to Kale at a function in New Delhi.

July 28th, 2009 CHENNAI - A technology safeguards agreement (TSA) signed with the US last week will open up fresh opportunities for India in the field of space launches, say officials. The agreement, signed July 20 in New Delhi, will facilitate the launch of non-commercial US satellites and satellites with US components on Indian launch vehicles.

July 24th, 2009 BANGALORE - India will soon design and develop its heaviest communications satellite, GSAT-11 to provide advanced telecom services from 2011-12, a senior official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said here Friday. At 4.5 tonnes, it will weigh more than twice as much as the biggest Indian satellite in orbit now.

July 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Union Cabinet today approved undertaking design and development of GSAT-11 communication satellite at a total cost of Rs. 500 crores. The GSAT-11 is an advanced communication satellite, which will be a high capacity multi-beam Ku/Ka-band spacecraft.

July 18th, 2009 CHENNAI - The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) first lunar mission Chandrayaan-I may have suffered technical setbacks within a year of its launch, but the organisation is confident that the spacecraft will complete its mission. "The failure of electronic components within a year of a satellite's launch is one of the risks that a mission faces.

July 2nd, 2009 LOS ANGELES - A new satellite designed to allow the convergence of cellphones and satellite phones throughout the US was successfully launched Thursday, mobile communications provider TerreStar announced. Weighing 6,910 kg, TerreStar-1 is the largest commercial satellite ever and was launched by Arianespace from Kourou, French Guiana Tuesday.

June 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The urban development ministry has sought an extra Rs.50,000 crore to include 28 more cities under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), a central government initiative to promote planned development of cities. "The government has committed to raise Rs.100,000 crore of investment for the urban sector under the JNNURM.

April 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Somnath Chatterjee, the speaker of the outgoing Lok Sabha, Monday congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the successful launch of the RISAT-2 spy satellite and an educational satellite. 'The country is proud of ISRO scientists for this remarkable achievement, which will provide a boost to India's capabilities in a number of areas, including disaster management and in better management of cyclones, floods, agriculture-related activities,' Chatterjee said in his congratulatory message.

April 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - China is all set to launch the second satellite, the Chinese version of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), into the orbit on Wednesday. This was announced by a spokesman of the Xichang Space Launch Center, in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

January 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Islamabad has not 'rejected' the evidence handed over by New Delhi, which points to the involvement of elements across the border in the Mumbai attacks, Pakistan's envoy here said Tuesday. 'There is no question of rejection of material that the Indian government has given us,' Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Malik told reporters here on the sidelines of a conference of Asia Africa Rural Development Organisation.