How Can We Matter

Despite a significant operational change, Indian TV viewers experienced a seamless transition on April 1, 2026, when all broadcasters were directed to move their services. The shift involved migrating away from China-linked satellites , specifically Chinasat and ApStar, to India’s own GSAT and the US-based Intelsat satellites. Image Credit: ISRO As a result, GSAT and Intelsat have now become the core infrastructure for Indian broadcasting. Viewers with cable or DTH connections likely did not notice the switch. While AsiaSat 7 has a very limited, temporary extension until June 30, 2026, for niche services, all major news and entertainment channels have already completed their migration off that platform. Security-Driven Migration The Indian government, acting through the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) , has opted not to renew the landing rights for satellites operated by AsiaSat (Hong Kong) and ApStar after March 31, 2026 . This decision is a d...

Fire, Water, and Destiny Tomorrow morning on April 11, 2026 , the heavens will tremble . Orion Integrity will streak across the sky, a blazing arrow returning from the void, destined to meet the Pacific waters near San Diego at 5:37 AM Indian Standard Time (IST). At that instant, humanity will witness a spectacle of courage and physics colliding at unimaginable speed . Image Credit: NASA/James M. Blair The astronauts christened their vessel Integrity - a name that embodies trust, humility, and the relentless devotion of thousands who dared to dream. Yet, as the capsule slams into the upper atmosphere at 38,000 kilometers per hour ( kmph) , trust alone will not shield them. To grasp the enormity of the speed of descent: A passenger jet cruises at 900 kmph. A sniper’s bullet tears through the air at 3,500 kmph. Orion will descend at Mach 32 , eleven times faster than a bullet-making this the fastest crewed reentry in history . Inside, four human beings will sit strapped in silence, he...

The NavIC System This morning (29-01-2025) ISRO successfully launched their GSLV-F15 rocket  precisely injecting the NVS-02 navigation satellite into the required orbit. This launch marked ISRO's 100th rocket mission, with the first big rocket liftoff, 46 years ago, on 10th August 1979. Image Credit: Indian Aerospace & Defence Bulletin On this occasion, I am proud to recall that during 1976-1985 I was working at the Space Applications Center (ISRO), Ahmedabad on satellite remote sensing and prior to that, during 1972-1976, I was part of the team at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (ISRO), Trivandrum, involved in the structural analysis of SLV rockets. See the past blog of May 22, 2017 titled Vintage Computer Programming of 1970s .  NVS-02 is the second in the series of the NavIC system ( Navigation with Indian Constellation ), which is India's independent regional navigation satellite system, previously known as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). NVS...