This space company is betting its future on a propellant available everywhere

More in Space

• 1.5-tonne Nasa observatory to re-enter Earth today; debris may fall in India

  Launched in 2004 for a two-year mission, the multiwavelength spacecraft exceeded expectations by operating for 22 years to observe cosmic phenomena like gamma-ray bursts and supermassive black holes. Although agency officials anticipate most of the returning vehicle will burn up, surviving components are projected to come down largely over oceans. A broad swath of inhabited land across multiple continents remains inside the descent corridor.

  1 min read
• A truck-sized NASA space telescope is about to crash to Earth

  The Swift Observatory is completing a decades-long mission studying gamma-ray bursts after solar storms pushed it into an unrecoverable lower orbit. While most of the 3,200-pound spacecraft will disintegrate upon atmospheric re-entry, ground teams are monitoring its descent across equatorial latitudes to track any surviving fragments. Officials assess the overall public safety risk from the uncontrolled descent as minimal.

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• Meet Bengaluru-born Ramya Anche, leading NASA's $20m telescope mission

  Selected under NASA’s Astrophysics Pioneers programme, the PUFFINS project aims to launch a specialised 10-inch space telescope by 2030. The venture investigates microscopic interstellar particles measuring under 50 nanometres that influence how light travels across space and assist in creating stars and planets. Led by an Indian Institute of Astrophysics alumna, the multi-institution collaboration will advance cosmic research through ultraviolet spectropolarimetry.

  3 min read