Giant leap for Ind-Aus ties: ISRO to launch biggest Australian satellite
Giant leap for Ind-Aus ties: ISRO to launch biggest Australian satellite © Provided by Deepak kumar blogs I n what is the most significant commercial space sector partnership between India and Australia, the Indian Space Agency would be launching a satellite built by an Australian firm. Interestingly, this mission 'Space MAITRI' (Mission for Australia-India's Technology, Research and Innovation) would be performed by India's smallest and newest rocket SSLV, and the passenger would be Australia's biggest satellite the 450kg 'Optimus'. The commercial pact for this launch, scheduled to take place in 2026, has been made between ISRO's commercial arm - NewSpace India Limited(NSIL) and the Australian firm Space Machines Company. The Optimus satellite is a unique piece of hardware, which is meant to perform in-orbit inspection of other satellites and even perform certain kinds of repair work. "Once Optimus gets into earth orbit, it will put itself in pa...