SolidBoosters2 🇮🇳

Founder & Admin of Building the ultimate home for Indian space nerds.

[Sidharth.M.P @sdhrthmp]

Hello GSLV-F18,
I saw you from a few thousand feet above! (While on a flight along the Andhra coast)

Godspeed... As always, will be there at Sriharikota to watch you liftoff and light up the midnight skies... 🇮🇳❤️🚀🚀🚀

[SolidBoosters2 🇮🇳 @SolidBoosters2]

Get well soon, Captain. All of India is proud of you and we're praying you're back in the cockpit soon, doing what you love most: flying.

[SolidBoosters2 🇮🇳 @SolidBoosters2]

Is it just me, or is anyone else completely confused about the NVS-03 valve issue? 🤔 I'll be honest, I can't make sense of the media reports on this. Waiting for an official statement from ISRO.

[Aditya Madanapalle @electricfoo]

Astrophel has tested an actuator for its own reusable rockets, and it intends to vend it to others as well. They developed the actuator after realising that domestically developed components were much cheaper than imported ones. @AstrophelHQ https://t.co/0GUbZgP8cU

[SolidBoosters2 🇮🇳 @SolidBoosters2]

Don't walk this back so quickly. Your original point holds it just needs sharper framing.

Nobody is asking ISRO or NASA to manually analyse every square km of the planet. The ask is an automated flagging layer, and that is well within what they already do.

1. Hazards are NISAR's stated job, not an afterthought. Hazard identification, mitigation and disaster response are listed among the mission's core objectives, and ISRO's own application list specifically includes Himalayan glacier dynamics and hazards.

2. "Public data" is not the same as usable data. NISAR generates roughly 80 TB of data products a day. Turning raw radar into a displacement time series needs InSAR expertise and serious compute that most national disaster agencies in the region simply don't have. Open data without processed products mostly helps researchers after the fact, which is exactly what happened here.

3. The pipeline already exists. NASA JPL's OPERA project already produces automated surface-displacement products from Sentinel-1 and NISAR, but only for North America. Running the same thing over known high-risk Himalayan slopes and glacial lakes is a scope decision, not a technical leap.

4. The signal was there. A NISAR study found the slope north of Langtang Lirung moving across four observation windows from 20 June to 19 August. Sentinel-1 data showed it creeping since January and accelerating in the weeks before the collapse. It was analysed only after 1,451 people were dead.

To be fair, slow creep doesn't tell you the exact day a slope will fail, and evacuation decisions rightly sit with national authorities. But an automatic alert sent to ICIMOD and Nepal's disaster authorities is the difference between a slope being watched and a slope being ignored. ICIMOD's own post-disaster report calls for exactly this: stronger integration of satellite monitoring and cross-border information sharing.

Asking the agencies that built a billion-dollar hazard-monitoring satellite to also ship a hazard alert isn't unrealistic. It's the obvious next step.

[SolidBoosters2 🇮🇳 @SolidBoosters2]

Is this a Thavittu kuruvi (Yellow-billed babbler)? #chennairain

[SolidBoosters2 🇮🇳 @SolidBoosters2]

@MitaliUnawane Happy birthday 🎂 🥳 🎉

[Shubhanshu Shukla @gagan_shux]

Some friendships survive the tests of time and distance rather effortlessly. ❤️

I’ve been a little quiet here lately, having taken a short break to visit one of the stalwarts of our Axiom-4 mission, Hungary’s very own Tibor Kapu!

During our training in the US, the crew developed a wonderful bond that showed up just as much outside the simulators as it did inside them. Somewhere between the long training days, shared experiences, and the occasional madness, we became much more than crewmates.

When I landed at the airport in Budapest, I found Tibi waiting for me in two forms — the real one and a rather hilarious life-size cutout! 😂 I’m still not entirely sure whether I should feel loved or slightly concerned for you see his love for me in subscript at the bottom of the poster.

The mission gave me an incredible experience, but one of its greatest gifts has been the friendships that came with it. The kind that make thousands of miles feel inconsequential and time apart seem like a mere pause in the conversation.

@AstroPeggy and @astro_slawosz , missed you guys so much! ❤️

P.S. If you have someone like this in your life, make them feel special. Go the extra mile, plan a surprise, show up at the airport… just perhaps choose a slightly better way than Tibi did! 😄

#shux #space #shubhanshushukla #india #friendship

[indianspaceflight.in🇮🇳 @ispaceflight_in]

NOTAM Alert: A new NOTAM (A3241/26) has been filed for GSLV-F18/NVS-03 mission from SHAR Range, Sriharikota. The window runs October 30 to November 11, 2026, with a daily slot of 17:00 to 21:00 UTC (22:30 to 02:30 IST).

Mapped: https://t.co/OCDUEhtBZn

#IndianSpace #GSLV #GSLVF18 #NVS03 #NavIC #ISRO #Sriharikota

[indianspaceflight.in🇮🇳 @ispaceflight_in]

SDSC SHAR has floated a tender (SH202600128501, 23 Oct 2026) to manufacture, supply and erect the SC120 Retraction System Mast Structure at the Second Launch Pad, Sriharikota.

SC120 is the LOX + ISROSENE semi-cryo stage being developed for the upgraded LVM3.

📐 What's being built
• Two ~7.8 m tall steel masts on the Mobile Launch Pedestal (MLP), one on the LOX side and one on the ISROSENE side
• ~12 t of fabricated structure in total, mostly S690QL high-strength steel

⚙️ How it works (per drawings)
• Each mast holds an Umbilical Coupling Unit (UCU) mated to the vehicle at ~12.8 m elevation
• At retraction, a ~543 kg counterweight drops inside the mast and pulls wire ropes over a top pulley, swinging the UCU and hoses clear
• Shock absorbers at the base (235 kN, 150 mm stroke) arrest the counterweight

📅 Timeline
• Delivery to SHAR within 3 months of PO
• Erection on the MLP within 1 month of site clearance
• Bids due 12 Nov 2026, price bids open 23 Nov

💡 SC120 pad infrastructure at SLP is now moving into execution.

#ISRO #SC120 #LVM3 #Sriharikota #IndianSpace

[ISRO @isro]

Department of Space / ISRO organised a Curtain Raiser at ISRO HQ, Bengaluru, for the Space Science & Technologies thematic session of #ESTIC2026. Dr V. Narayanan, Secretary, DOS/Chairman, ISRO, addressed the gathering. The thematic session will be held on Oct 29 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.

For more Information: https://t.co/c70osZGf3m

#ISRO #ESTIC2026 #SpaceScience #SpaceTechnology #ViksitBharat2047

[SolidBoosters2 🇮🇳 @SolidBoosters2]

@pramochanyaan 😭😭

[indianspaceflight.in🇮🇳 @ispaceflight_in]

🌍Chairman ISRO / Secretary DOS at the 77th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2026), Antalya, Türkiye (5–9 Oct)

Organised by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and hosted by the Turkish Space Agency (TUA).

🎙️Key engagements:
• IAA Academy Day & Board of Trustees meeting (4 Oct)
• High-level plenary "One-to-One interviews with Global Space Agency Leaders": spoke on space benefits for all, space sustainability and international cooperation
• IAF Space Leaders' Summit (5 Oct): highlighted India's use of space tech for disaster mitigation
• Artemis Accords Principals meeting: discussed capability building for emerging space nations and taking Accords discussions to UNCOPUOS

🤝Bilateral meetings with NASA, ESA, CNES, ASI, ASA, CSA, UKSA, CONAE, JAXA, NLSA and Uzbekistan Space Agency
Topics: human spaceflight, lunar exploration, Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS) and capacity building
IN-SPACe Chairman Dr Pawan Goenka joined to present India's private space ecosystem

🇮🇳 Indian Space Pavilion set up jointly by ISRO, IN-SPACe and NSIL, showcasing 10 Indian space industries/start-ups

🥂 IN-SPACe Networking Reception (6 Oct) on India's emerging space ecosystem, also addressed by the Indian Ambassador to Türkiye

The focus was on seeking global partnerships for key technology areas under the Space-2047 vision.

#ISRO #IAC2026 #INSPACe #NSIL #BAS #ArtemisAccords

[indianspaceflight.in🇮🇳 @ispaceflight_in]

📢 Update: LPSC Bengaluru has extended the deadline for its Low Temperature Sensor Calibration Facility tender (No. LB 2026000322 01)

📅 Revised schedule:
• Bid deadline: 6 Nov 2026, 14:00 (earlier 16 Oct)
• Technical bid opening: 6 Nov 2026, 14:05
• Price bid opening: 20 Nov 2026, 14:00 (earlier 4 Nov)

All other terms and conditions remain unchanged.

#ISRO #LPSC #Cryogenic #Tender #IndianSpaceflight

[indianspaceflight.in🇮🇳 @ispaceflight_in]

Department of Space, through the Construction & Maintenance Group (CMG) at SDSC SHAR, has invited e-tenders for construction of the Atmospheric & Space Science Research Facility (ASRF) building at Chandipur, Odisha.

💰Estimated cost: ₹906 lakh (~₹9.06 crore)
• Civil & Plumbing: ₹567 lakh
• Electrical: ₹297 lakh
• AC: ₹42 lakh

⏳Completion: 15 months from work order

👷Who can apply:
• Indian bidders only
• Built RCC framed buildings (civil + electrical) in the last 7 years: 1 work ≥ ₹724.8L, or 2 ≥ ₹543.6L, or 3 ≥ ₹362.4L
• At least one building with pile foundation
• Avg annual turnover ≥ ₹271.8L, solvency ≥ ₹362.4L
• Electrical & AC works can be done directly or via a declared specialised agency (valid electrical licence needed)
• JV/sub-contract experience not counted

📅Key dates:
• Document download: 23 Oct – 12 Nov 2026
• Bid deadline: 20 Nov 2026, 2:30 PM
• Technical bid opening: 23 Nov 2026

💵EMD: ₹18.12 lakh (MSEs exempt)

#ISRO #SDSCSHAR #Odisha #Chandipur #Tender

[indianspaceflight.in🇮🇳 @ispaceflight_in]

🌏 Astreva Aerospace, a student startup based in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, flew mission Vetriyaan, a near-space mission carried out using a high-altitude balloon 🌌

This is the onboard footage from the mission at its peak altitude of ~25.4 km. The mission lasted around 3 hours and 10 minutes. More details about the mission will be shared soon.

This footage was shared exclusively with @ispaceflight_in! Congratulations @ASTREVA_SPACE on your first near-space mission! Looking forward to your future missions!

[SolidBoosters2 🇮🇳 @SolidBoosters2]

@Arjun85430 🔥🔥

[SolidBoosters2 🇮🇳 @SolidBoosters2]

Romba naal kalichu theatre la Thalaivar movie paathen 😌 Fully wholesome, semma enjoy pannen Second half la konjam hiccups irundhuchu, but overall nice experience 👌 Movie thaandi, "Netru Ponavai" song mattum head la irundhu poga maatengudhu. Video credits to the original creator, got it from WhatsApp. #NetruPonavai #Jailer2 #Thalaivar #Anirudh #VigneshShivan #ShankarMahadevan

[SolidBoosters2 🇮🇳 @SolidBoosters2]

I've always been sceptical of Hyperloop. Vacuum tubes, sealed pods, and every kilometre built from scratch. The cost per km never made sense to me. Nevomo's MagRail is the opposite approach and much more sensible. It takes the Hyperloop idea (frictionless magnetic propulsion) and retrofits it onto existing rails. No vacuum tubes, no new land acquisition. India has a huge rail network. We don't need to lay new corridors we need to make the existing ones faster. I'd love to see an Indian startup working on this kind of tech. Upgrade what we have instead of building from zero.
https://t.co/5WjLwtzHmD

[SolidBoosters2 🇮🇳 @SolidBoosters2]

@debapratim_ 💔💔