India Space Indian Space Program

[dronie]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2085647452972126313

 

[Gessler]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2085656034799149064

View attachment 82001
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It's a beauty. Wish they revealed more details though (especially chamber pressure):

We officially have a FFSC engine before Europe!

The CNES' ASTRE engine's subscale demonstrator hot test is 2 years away, assuming no delays.

 

[Nilgiri]

The selected industry partner will be responsible for end-to-end management, including: • Launch campaign operations • Maintenance of infrastructure & systems • Safety and security • Mission readiness • Asset management • Logistics • Coordination with ISRO, IN-SPACe and launch customers

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2086778502708416565

 

[Gessler]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2086461015051649067

𝗔𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗚𝗡𝗖 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝗦𝗥𝗢-𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗖! Recently, Bengaluru-based Aule Space completed a closed-loop test of their GNC stack to be used for docking in orbit. With their maiden orbital docking mission aimed for 2027, Aule Space is likely to become the 2nd company in the world to perform a 100% optical camera aided docking!

While other spacecrafts (including ISRO's SpaDEx) uses expensive LiDAR & Laser Range Finder tech for determining the relative distance and orientation of the target spacecraft which they want to dock to, Aule Space's entirely camera-based computer vision architecture makes their system highly cost effective. They plan to use this system on their 'jetpack' satellites which are essentially mission extension vehicles designed to service and extend the service life of satellites (especially in Geostationary Orbit) that are fully functional but have run out of propellants, by docking with them and acting as a jetpack, even if those satellites were never originally designed to be docked to.

As Aule Space is among the first to attempt docking like this using only cameras, there is a lack of a sufficiently large image dataset containing close-up images of satellites in orbit to train their computer vision model on. To tackle this, Aule Space set up their own dark room facility, used a light source to simulate the Sun, and moved a dummy satellite using robotic arms to simulate how satellites would appear and move in the darkness of space partially illuminated by sunlight to train their model.

Then using this model, they succesfully tested the final 15 meters of autonomous proximity operations at ISRO's Rendezvous Simulation Lab (where SpaDEx was tested) at ISITE in UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC)! With this, their system achieved a technology readiness level of TRL-6!

Aule

Aule Space builds the robotic workforce for satellites in orbit, pioneering autonomous RPOD and satellite-agnostic docking where intelligence meets universal compatibility, saving billions in space infrastructure.

aule.space

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My comments:

There's been an absolute explosion of private spacetech firms. It's almost impossible to keep track of what everyone's doing! That said, what Aule Space is working on is essentially the equivalent of Northrop's Mission Extension Pod (MEP) tech.

The big difference seems to be that Northrop's solution requires a larger Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) with arms to manually place the 'jetpack' onto the client satellite, whereas what Aule is developing has the jetpack satellite guide itself into position using computer vision. A far more efficient & less expensive way to get it done if they can demonstrate it.

 

[Nilgiri]

NASA invites ISRO to join Moon Base programme

NASA has invited ISRO to collaborate on its Moon Base program, enhancing U.S.-India space cooperation.

www.thehindu.com

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2087175251323166763

 

[Garuda]

NASA invites ISRO to join Moon Base programme

NASA has invited ISRO to collaborate on its Moon Base program, enhancing U.S.-India space cooperation.

www.thehindu.com

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2087175251323166763

Nothingburger. So many such "invites", "talks", "MOUs" amount to nothing when it comes to West in areas like Space.

 

[Nilgiri]

ISRO has successfully conducted the ground static test of an improved version of the solid booster stage (SS1) of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).

ISRO tests an improved version of the first stage of Small Satellite Launch vehicle (SSLV)

ISRO tests an improved version of the first stage of Small Satellite Launch vehicle (SSLV)

www.isro.gov.in

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2087517952602243354

 

[Garuda]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2087780863761318066

 

[Garuda]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2087883136558575806

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2087883141071692003

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2087883145748390184

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2087883150165004638

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2087883154778665107

https://x.com/theguildworld/status/2087883159509803469

Seems like Stokes Space Nova kind of LV

 

[Nilgiri]

Astrobase Space has unveiled EVEREST, India’s first integrated Full-Flow Staged Combustion (FFSC) rocket engine, and the first private FFSC rocket engine outside of China and the United States. EVEREST is a 800 kN class LOX-methane propulsion system unveiled on the 7th of August, 2026. The Full-Flow Staged Combustion cycle is widely regarded as the most complex and efficient liquid rocket engine architecture ever developed. In an FFSC engine, both the fuel and the oxidiser are routed through separate pre-burners where they are partially burned to produce hot gas that drives the respective turbopumps. The entire flow of both propellants then enters the main combustion chamber so that none of the propellant is wasted as dump exhaust. This architecture enables very high chamber pressures (typically exceeding 300 bar), high thermodynamic efficiency, reduced thermal stress on the turbomachinery compared with other high-pressure cycles, and better suitability for repeated restarts and long life. The oxygen-rich pre-burner side is especially demanding because hot, high-pressure oxygen is highly reactive and can ignite or erode conventional metals, requiring advanced materials, coatings and manufacturing techniques. Globally only a handful of organisations have successfully developed high-thrust FFSC engines. SpaceX’s Raptor family remains the only one that has flown to orbit and operated in flight. Astrobase’s achievement places it as one of only a small number of commercial companies worldwide to have designed, manufactured and fully integrated such an engine.

00:00 - Intro 00:56 - Metal Sheets for Astrobase's Demonstrator Stages 01:53 - Astrobase's Manufacturing Facility 04:50 - The Additive Manufacturing Department 09:32 - Astrobase Space's EVEREST FFSC Rocket Engine 13:01 - The Engine Control Panel 14:08 - Astrobase's Hardware Losses 15:24 - A Rocket Stage Exterior 19:00 - Wiring Harnesses & Electronics Station 19:36 - Cold Flow Testing Stand 20:58 - Rocket Simulators 23:08 - More Hardware Losses 23:37 - The Cutting Station 24:40 - The Metallurgy Lab 26:12 - Astrobase's Testing Facility

The EVEREST engine has a specific impulse of around 340 seconds, and a deep throttle range of 50 to 110%. The wide throttle capability is essential for precise trajectory control during ascent, for controlled deceleration during atmospheric entry, and for soft landing of a reusable booster. Methane is chosen as the fuel because it burns more cleanly than kerosene, producing far less soot, which greatly simplifies post-flight inspection and refurbishment and supports rapid turnaround between flights. Core components of the engine are manufactured using large-scale metal additive manufacturing. Astrobase installed what it describes as India’s largest industrial metal 3D printer at their facility in Bengaluru specifically to produce the intricate, high-complexity parts required by the FFSC architecture. More than 70% of the engine is indigenously designed and manufactured, with imports limited to specialised sensors and components not yet available in India. Astrobase Space Technologies was founded in 2024 by Neeraj Khandelwal, an IIT Bombay alumnus and co-founder of CoinDCX, and Devakumar Thammisetty, a former ISRO propulsion scientist with more than 13 years of experience in cryogenic systems. Devakumar Thammisetty contributed to the upper stages of the GSLV Mk II and Mk III vehicles, the Chandrayaan programme and early human-spaceflight propulsion work, and later completed advanced studies focused on rocket reusability at EPFL in Switzerland. The company operates a vertically integrated setup. The Bengaluru facility handles design, 3D printing, assembly and subsystem testing, while their 21.5-acre private propulsion test site in Andhra Pradesh provides the high-thrust cryogenic test stands capable of handling engines up to roughly 200 tonnes of thrust. Development of the EVEREST programme began shortly after the company’s founding. A sub-scale version of the engine was successfully hot-fired in September 2025 on the first attempt, validating combustion stability, materials behaviour and flow paths. High-speed turbopump cold-flow testing followed in January 2026. The turbopumps handle power levels on the order of five megawatts while pumping dense, high-pressure liquid oxygen, and the company reported that measured performance exceeded predictions. Full-scale integrated engine hot-fire testing is scheduled to begin in the coming months at the Anantapur facility, followed by stage-level static firings. Astrobase plans to manufacture and hot-fire approximately twenty engines before attempting its first orbital flight, currently targeted for December 2028. Once production is fully scaled the company intends to build up to fifty (and in some statements sixty) engines per year and to conduct roughly one high-thrust hot-fire test per week. The engine is intended to power Astrobase Space's two-stage reusable launch vehicle.