Skyroot Aerospace, Axiom Space team up to advance space exploration
HYDERABAD: On a day Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission finally launched, carrying Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and three other astronauts to space, Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace and US-based Axiom Space said they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on advancing space exploration, particularly enhancing access to low earth orbit (LEO).
Axiom Space will explore utilising Skyroot's capabilities for sending groundbreaking research payloads, orbital data center nodes, and other future missions to its under-construction Axiom Station as well as independently to LEO, the two players said in a joint statement. The two companies will collaborate to cater to not just the Indian market but also international markets.
Skyroot Aerospace, which was the first private player in South Asia to successfully send a rocket to space with Vikram-S sub-orbital launch vehicle in November 2022, is gearing up to send its first orbital rocket – Vikram-1 -- into space later this year.
On Wednesday, Axiom Space launched Ax-4, marking India's second shot at human spaceflight and the country's first mission on board the International Space Station (ISS). The mission is also being seen as foundational for the construction and operation of its Axiom Station as the company tries to develop a diverse global supply chain through partnerships with companies like Skyroot Aerospace.
'Enabling greater and equitable access to space, be it for research institutes, startups, or national agencies, is the guiding mantra at Skyroot,' said Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder and CEO, Skyroot Aerospace.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy
IC Markets
Tìm hiểu thêm
Undo
'As we begin realizing this vision with the upcoming maiden launch of Vikram-1, the partnership with Axiom Space builds an opportunity to explore integrated launch and orbital solutions that will shape humanity's future in space,' Chandana added.
Axiom Space CEO Tejpaul Bhatia said: 'Since the day I visited Skyroot's facility two years ago, I knew our companies had to work together to define humanity's future in space. With our shared vision to transform access to space, we look forward to collaborating with Skyroot to serve the growing space ecosystem in India and globally.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
21 minutes ago
- India Today
Mark Zuckerberg announces Meta Superintelligence Labs and 11 new hires from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday announced the creation of Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL), a new division aimed at developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) – an AI system that can match or exceed human intelligence across a wide range of tasks. The new group will reportedly bring together Meta's foundational AI model teams, product teams, and the company's well-known Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) division. A new lab under MSL will also focus on building the next generation of large language models (LLMs).advertisementAt the helm of this ambitious project is Alexandr Wang, the former CEO of data-labelling startup Scale AI. Wang will serve as Meta's chief AI officer, a newly created role. In a memo to employees obtained by Bloomberg, Zuckerberg described Wang as 'the most impressive founder of his generation.' Wang will be joined by Nat Friedman, who was the former GitHub CEO; he will co-lead the division. Friedman's focus will be on developing AI products and applied research. Zuckerberg said the two leaders will steer Meta's efforts to reach the next frontier in artificial intelligence.'As the pace of AI progress accelerates, developing superintelligence is coming into sight,' Zuckerberg reportedly wrote in his internal note to staff. 'I believe this will be the beginning of a new era for humanity, and I am fully committed to doing what it takes for Meta to lead the way.'advertisement According to reports, Zuckerberg has been personally leading the hiring campaign for MSL. He apparently offered generous packages and hosted many of the potential hires at his home. However, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's claims of Meta offering a $100 million signing bonus were dismissed by the Meta company recently invested $14.3 billion in Scale AI, bringing in some of its staff, including Wang. Meta has also been in talks with AI startups like Perplexity AI and Runway, and is expected to acquire PlayAI, a small company focused on voice replication using the most talked-about aspect of this overhaul was Meta poaching people from its competitors like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. According to a report by Bloomberg, Meta has hired 11 top-tier AI researchers from its rivals. Wired has listed all the new hired that Zuckerberg's company has done for MSL, which includes Trapit Bansal, who was the co-creator of OpenAI's o-series models, Shuchao Bi, who was involved in GPT-4o voice and multimodal post-training, Huiwen Chang, who is known for developing image generation tools at Google Research, Ji Lin, who was a contributor to multiple GPT-4 models and reasoning systems, Joel Pobar, who was with Meta earlier and has just returned from Anthropic after a short stint, along with Jack Rae, Johan Schalkwyk and Pei Sun from Google, and Hongyu Ren, Jiahui Yu and Shengjia Zhao from launch of the superintelligence labs reflects Zuckber's long-term commitment to AI. And Meta isn't alone. The move echoes industry-wide trends. This year alone, Microsoft spent $650 million acquiring much of Inflection AI's team, while Amazon has hired key staff from Adept. - Ends
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
31 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Kalpataru makes flat market debut at ₹414, in-line with GMP estimates
Kalpataru IPO listing: Shares of Mumbai-based real estate developer Kalpataru made a flat debut on the stock exchanges on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, following the completion of its initial public offering (IPO). On the NSE, Kalpataru shares listed at ₹414 per share, which is the issue price as well. Similarly, on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Kalpataru shares listed at ₹414. Post listing, Kalpataru shares were trading at ₹427.9, up 3.36 per cent from the listing price at the NSE. Kalpataru IPO listing came in-line with the grey market estimates. Ahead of their debut, the unlisted shares of Kalpataru were seen trading almost flat at ₹415.5 per share compared to the issue price, revealed the sources tracking unofficial market activities. Kalpataru IPO details Kalpataru IPO was a book-building issue of ₹1,590 crore, which comprised an entirely fresh issue of 38.4 million equity shares, with no offer-for-sale (OFS) component. The public issue was offered at a price band was fixed at ₹414 with a lot size of 36 shares. The public issue was open for public subscription from June 24 to June 26. Kalpataru IPO received a lacklustre response from investors and closed with an overall subscription of 2.26 times, according to NSE data. The highest demand for the Kalpataru IPO came from qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), who subscribed 3.12 times the portion reserved for them, followed by non-institutional investors (NIIs) at 1.31 times, and retail investors at 1.29 times. The basis of allotment of Kalpataru shares was finalised on Friday, June 27. The company had fixed the issue price at ₹414 per share. According to the red herring prospectus, the company intends to use ₹1,192.5 crore from the net issue proceeds for the repayment of certain borrowing availed by itself and its subsidiaries. The remaining funds will be used for general corporate purposes. MUFG Intime India, formerly Link Intime was the registrar for the issue. ICICI Securities, JM Financial, and Nomura Financial Advisory & Securities (India) were the book-running lead managers. About Kalpataru Kalpataru, a part of Kalpataru Group, is an integrated real estate development company involved in all key activities associated with real estate development, including the identification and acquisition of land (or development rights thereto), planning, designing, execution, sales, and marketing of projects. It is a prominent real estate developer in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) in Maharashtra. It is the fifth-largest developer in the MCGM (Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai) area in Maharashtra and the seventh-largest developer in Thane, Maharashtra, in terms of units supplied from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2024.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
32 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Shubhanshu Shukla conducts stem cell study on ISS, records digestion video
Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) astronaut and Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), conducted a series of scientific experiments on Monday focused on muscle health, digestion in space, and astronaut mental well-being. According to Nasa, Shukla worked inside the Kibo laboratory's Life Sciences Glovebox to study how muscle stem cells behave in microgravity. He also recorded an educational video for Indian school students explaining how the human digestive system adapts in space. Nasa said, "Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla filmed a video targeted to young Indian students discussing how the digestion system adapts to space. Next, Shukla worked in Kibo's Life Science Glovebox checking muscle stem cell cultures to learn how to maintain muscle health in space." The Life Sciences Glovebox is a sealed and sterile workspace aboard the ISS that allows astronauts to safely handle biological samples in microgravity. It is large enough to allow two astronauts to work together and is used for experiments requiring clean conditions. According to Nasa, Isro's experiment, Myogenesis, investigates how muscle cells regenerate in space. Astronauts tend to lose muscle mass during extended missions, partly due to microgravity disrupting the function of mitochondria, the part of the cell responsible for energy production. The study involves testing certain metabolic supplements to see if they can improve muscle repair in microgravity. Results from the research may help in developing treatments for age-related muscle loss or muscle-wasting diseases on Earth, in addition to improving astronaut health during long-duration spaceflights. Nasa explained the purpose, saying, "Astronauts lose muscle mass and the ability of muscle cells to regenerate during spaceflight, which may be due to microgravity interfering with metabolism in mitochondria, cell structures that produce energy. The Effect of Metabolic Supplements on Muscle Regeneration Under Microgravity (Myogenesis - Isro) investigation on the Axiom 4 (Ax-4) private astronaut mission uses muscle stem cell cultures to examine the muscle repair process and test chemicals known to support mitochondrial function. Results could lead to interventions that maintain muscle health during long-term space missions and help people on Earth with muscle-related challenges such as age-related muscle loss and muscle-wasting diseases." Other Ax-4 crew members also contributed to scientific research. Mission Commander Peggy Whitson used the Ultrasound 2 device to perform vein scans on Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu, to help understand how space affects blood pressure, balance, and vision. According to Nasa, the Ultrasound 2 on the International Space Station (ISS) is a modified commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) ultrasound system that provides high-resolution ultrasound images of target areas in the human body." Polish astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski tested a brain-computer interface using a special headset developed by the European Space Agency (ESA). He later joined Whitson and Shukla in filming content for an astronaut mental health study. Nasa stated, "The Thoughts over Gravity, a Test of Using fNIRS-based Brain, Computer Interface in LEO Conditions (PhotonGrav) investigation verifies the effectiveness of near-infrared technology (fNIRS) in low Earth orbit to record brain activity for constructing brain-computer interfaces (BCI) operated in the microgravity environment." Commenting on the crew's schedule, Nasa said, "The Ax-4 private astronauts had a science-packed Monday fulfilling research objectives for their home countries." The Ax-4 mission is taking place alongside the activities of the ISS's regular Expedition 73 crew. While Ax-4 focuses on privately funded science, Expedition 73 astronauts continue to work on Nasa- and ESA-backed research related to human health and biology in space. Nasa Flight Engineers Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers conducted muscle stimulation tests using biomedical equipment to examine how muscles react to electrical signals. McClain also completed cognitive tests to study how spaceflight affects brain function. Ayers and fellow astronaut Jonny Kim processed blood samples, including collections from Whitson and Uznanski-Wisniewski, for ESA's Bone on ISS study on space-induced bone loss. JAXA Commander Takuya Onishi collected and stored his own blood and urine samples for long-term health monitoring. He also worked on air quality monitoring inside the Kibo module. Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritskiy trained for the arrival of the "Progress 92" cargo spacecraft and loaded the outgoing "Progress 90" with waste for departure. Another cosmonaut, Kirill Peskov, underwent a 24-hour heart and blood pressure monitoring session and prepared the European robotic arm for upcoming operations. Summarising the week's activities, Nasa said, "The seven-member Expedition 73 crew wrapped up a weekend of housecleaning and relaxation, then kicked off Monday with muscle and brain research aboard the International Space Station. Their Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) counterparts worked throughout the weekend and began the week taking a closer look at muscle cells and exploring brain-computer interfaces." On June 26, Shubhanshu Shukla became the first Indian to board the International Space Station. The Ax-4 crew includes former Nasa astronaut Peggy Whitson, Isro astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, and ESA astronauts Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. The mission is expected to last up to 14 days. Axiom Mission 4 was launched at noon IST on June 25 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Nasa's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. The Dragon spacecraft successfully docked with the ISS on June 26 at 4:05 pm IST, ahead of schedule, connecting to the space-facing port of the station's Harmony module.
