Ariane 64 Maiden Flight

12 February 2026National

Arianespace launched 32 Amazon Leo (Project Kuiper) satellites on the first-ever flight of the Ariane 64 heavy-lift configuration - the most powerful version of Europe's Ariane 6.

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ISRO Launches EOS-05, India's First Geosynchronous Imaging Satellite, Aboard GSLV-F17

On 4 September 2026, ISRO launched the 2,367 kg EOS-05 Earth observation satellite aboard the 51.7-metre GSLV-F17 from the Second Launch Pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh). EOS-05 is India's first-ever imaging satellite in geosynchronous orbit, capable of continuous large-area monitoring using visible, infrared, multispectral and hyperspectral imaging for agriculture and disaster management. The three-stage GSLV-F17, with a 420.5-tonne lift-off mass and an indigenous cryogenic upper stage, placed it in a Sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit with a perigee of 171 km, apogee of 31,260 km and inclination of 19.28 degrees, to be raised to about 36,000 km.

GK ByteISRO was founded on 15 August 1969 and is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka; its chairman is V. Narayanan | Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota is India's only orbital launch site, named after ISRO's second chairman | Geosynchronous orbit lies at roughly 36,000 km altitude, where a satellite's orbital period matches Earth's rotation

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The Republic of Turkiye became the 71st signatory of the Artemis Accords on 31 August 2026 at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir signed for Turkiye, with Turkish Space Agency President Yusuf Kirac present and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman hosting. Turkiye is the seventh Middle Eastern signatory after the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan and Israel. NASA cited Turkiye's recent milestones, including astronaut Alper Gezeravci's Axiom Mission 3 flight to the ISS in 2024. Turkiye is preparing AYAP-1, its first lunar mission, targeting a hybrid-propelled spacecraft to the Moon in early 2027.

GK ByteArtemis Accords launched in 2020 by NASA and the US State Department as non-binding principles for civil space activity | Core principles cover transparency, interoperability, emergency assistance to astronauts, registration of space objects and protection of outer-space heritage sites | India signed the Artemis Accords in June 2023, becoming the 27th signatory

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GK ByteThe International Space Station is run jointly by NASA, Roscosmos, ESA, JAXA and CSA, and has been continuously crewed since November 2000 | Canadarm2, the ISS robotic arm, was contributed by Canada | ESA, founded in 1975, is headquartered in Paris, France

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