Indian Astronomers Discover 'Alaknanda' Early Spiral Galaxy

1 December 2025National

Using James Webb Space Telescope data, Indian astronomers discovered 'Alaknanda', a fully formed spiral galaxy that existed only about 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang, challenging galaxy-formation models.

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GSAT-7B, the Indian Army's First Dedicated Communication Satellite, Targeted for a Mid-2028 Launch

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GK ByteISRO was founded in 1969 and is headquartered at Bengaluru under the Department of Space, with Antrix and NewSpace India Limited as its commercial arms | GSAT-7, nicknamed Rukmini, was launched in 2013 for the Indian Navy and provides maritime communication over the Indian Ocean Region | NewSpace India Limited was incorporated in March 2019 and is headquartered in Bengaluru

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GK ByteSkyroot Aerospace was founded in 2018 by former ISRO engineers Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka and is headquartered at Hyderabad | Vikram-S, launched on 18 November 2022 from Sriharikota under Mission Prarambh, was India's first privately developed rocket | IN-SPACe, set up in 2020 and headquartered at Ahmedabad, is the single-window regulator and promoter for India's private space sector

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GK ByteNASA's Astrophysics Pioneers programme funds small, low-cost astrophysics missions such as CubeSats, SmallSats and balloon payloads | Polarimetry measures the polarisation of light; interstellar dust grains align with magnetic fields and polarise the starlight passing through them | The Habitable Worlds Observatory is NASA's planned large ultraviolet-optical-infrared space telescope intended to search for signs of life on Earth-like exoplanets

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