Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS Life Journalist Profile

Articles

Rocket Lab Investor Joins Blue Origin’s NS-32 Suborbital Crew

1 week ago | orbitaltoday.com | Venkatachari Jagannathan

A fresh set of six space tourists will board Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket (NS-32) on 31 May 2025, to experience Earth from space. This will be Blue Origin’s 12th human spaceflight and marks another milestone for the Jeff Bezos-owned aerospace company. The flight will lift off from Launch Site One in West Texas, with the launch window opening at 8:30 AM CDT / 13:30 UTC. The webcast on BlueOrigin.com will start at T-30 minutes (8:00 AM CDT / 13:00 UTC).
Two Chess Bodies, One Big Controversy

1 week ago | rediff.com | Venkatachari Jagannathan

Two associations claiming to represent Bihar chess has startled the AICF. Kindly note the image have only been published for representational purposes. Double bishop attack in chess is well known. But a 'double state chess association gambit' will be new for many in Indian chess.
India Eyes $44 Billion Space Market by 2033 with Private Sector Push

2 weeks ago | orbitaltoday.com | Venkatachari Jagannathan

With India emerging as a major spacefaring nation and the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi opening the sector to private investment, the country’s space industry is poised to become the next sunrise sector. According to government estimates, India’s space economy is currently valued at $8.4 billion — roughly 2% of the global space market.
Consecutive ISRO Mission Failure Raises National Security Concerns

2 weeks ago | rediff.com | Venkatachari Jagannathan

'There's too much coincidence in back-to-back failures of missions critical to national security.'IMAGE: ISRO launches PSLV-C61 at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Sunday, May 18, 2025. India's space programme suffered a major setback on Sunday, May 18, 2025, as the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-XL (PSLV-XL) mission failed mid-flight, resulting in a loss of approximately ₹850 crore ($8 billion).
Indian Rocket Carrying Spy Satellite Fails Due To Problem In Third Stage

2 weeks ago | orbitaltoday.com | Venkatachari Jagannathan

It was a black Sunday for the Indian space programme as it suffered a whopping Rs.850 crore ($8.5 billion) serious setback with its rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-XL (PSLV-XL) variant failing midway to orbit the country’s spy satellite. It was 101th launch mission from India’s rocket port in Sriharikota.
Indian PSLV-XL Rocket Carrying Spy Satellite Fails Due To Problem In Third Stage

2 weeks ago | orbitaltoday.com | Venkatachari Jagannathan

It was a black Sunday for the Indian space programme as it suffered a whopping Rs.850 crore ($100 million) serious setback with its rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-XL (PSLV-XL) variant failing midway to orbit the country’s spy satellite. It was 101th launch mission from India’s rocket port in Sriharikota.
Ravi Kishan Wins An Award Not For Films!

2 weeks ago | rediff.com | Venkatachari Jagannathan

BJP MP and actor Ravi Kishan has been awarded the Sansad Ratna for his outstanding performance in the Lok Sabha, becoming the first actor-turned-politician to receive the honour. IMAGE: Ravi Kishan on the campaign trail. Ravindra Kishan Shukla alias Ravi Kishan, the Lok Sabha member from Gorakhpur, is perhaps the first actor-politician to receive the Sansad Ratna award.
India Readies Two SAR Satellites - RISAT-1B and NISAR Launches Ahead

3 weeks ago | orbitaltoday.com | Venkatachari Jagannathan

India is expected to have one more eye or spy in the sky, RISAT-1B, also known as EOS-09, a radar imaging satellite that can see through the clouds, on 18 May. The spacecraft will be launched with its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), said a source. “The launch date is fixed tentatively,” the source told Orbital Today, not wanting to be named.
Chandrayaan-3 Found Too Much Sulphur on the Moon — Here’s What Might Explain It - Orbital Today

3 weeks ago | orbitaltoday.com | Venkatachari Jagannathan

Did a massive impact around 4.3 billion years ago create the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin and threw up sulphur-rich material from the Moon’s primitive mantle? Probably yes, say scientists at the Physical Research Laboratory, an autonomous unit of India’s Department of Space. The Ahmedabad-based laboratory reached its conclusions after analysing elemental data from Chandrayaan-3 at Shiv Shakti Point (69.37° S, 32.32° E), in the Moon’s southern high-latitude highlands.
ISRO Set To Launch 7th Spy Satellite

4 weeks ago | rediff.com | Venkatachari Jagannathan

The main focus of the all weather RISAT-1B satellite will be to observe the Indian land with its C-band synthetic aperture radar. Kindly note the image has been published only for representational purposes. Beefing up its surveillance network in space, India will orbit one more spy in the sky -- the RISAT-1B or EOS-09, a radar imaging satellite -- on May 18 morning. The RISAT-1B will be orbited by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C61) XL variant.