A first, Bangaluru company tests expandable space habitat tech in near-space mission

NewsIndia NewsA first, Bangaluru company tests expandable space habitat tech in near-space mission A first, Bangaluru company tests expandable space habitat tech in near-space mission InsightfulAgreeDisagreeSkepticalConcerningPromisingWorth ReadingBig Development Jena said the next major milestone is an orbital mission planned for March, using Skyroot’s Vikram-2 rocket.

The proposed mission will carry a larger with the overall payload mass expected to be around 70kg. It will include two of the company’s material-development experiments to be conducted in microgravity and a data-centre payload.Tuesday’s flight provides the engineering data needed to refine the technology before it moves towards orbital qualification.

It is an important intermediate step, rather than a demonstration of an operational space factory or an orbital re-entry system. Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app. Chethan Kumar is a Senior Assistant Editor with the Times of India.

Aside from specialising in Space & Science, he has reported extensively on varied topics, with special focus on defence, policy and data stories. He has covered multiple elections, too. As a young democracy grows out of adolescence, Chethan feels, there are reels of tales emerging which need to be captured.

To do this, he alternates between the mundane goings-on of the Common Man and the wonder-filled worlds of scientists and scamsters, politicians and soldiers. In a career spanning nearly 18 years, he has reported from multiple datelines — Houston, Florida, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Sriharikota (AP), NH-1 (J&K Highway), New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Raichur, Bhatkal, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, to name a few — but is based out of Bengaluru, India’s science capital that also hosts the ISRO HQ.

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