20.06.2025 – Interplanetary.tv

Aadyah Aerospace: India Self-Reliance in Space & Defense Engineering

Aadyah Aerospace, founded by Shaju Stephen in 2016, is a leading player in India’s aerospace and defense engineering sector. The company specializes in high-reliability satellite components, unmanned aerial systems, and advanced launch-support hardware. Under Stephen’s leadership, Aadyah Aerospace is shaping India’s space ecosystem with innovation and precision engineering. The company has expanded into satellite subsystems, designing lightweight bus structures and deployers to reduce launch costs. Aadyah Aerospace has forged partnerships with public and private sector players to advance indigenous satellite technologies. Under Stephen’s leadership, the company is scaling up to tackle larger projects and accelerating innovation across India’s aerospace ecosystem.

China conducts In-orbit Refueling Test

Two Chinese spacecraft, the Shijian-21 and Shijian-25, have recently met up 22,000 miles above Earth as part of a refueling demonstration mission. The spacecraft were developed by China’s state-owned Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST). The test aims to demonstrate on-orbit refueling and mission extension capabilities, helping to improve the sustainability of space operations. The US and Tokyo-based Astroscale are likely to observe the activity, and the US has already tested life-extension services for satellites in geosynchronous orbit.

Private Space News (16-20 June)

Landspace, a Chinese private rocket company, has successfully launched six satellites for Spacety, a commercial satellite operator known for Earth observation data. The launch of the methane-fueled Zhuque-2E rocket demonstrates China’s growing maturity in the private launch vehicle industry and its ability to serve commercial satellite customers. The “Three-Body Computing Constellation” project aims to deploy up to 2,800 satellites, positioning China as a global leader in space-based AI computing infrastructure. China’s commercial space sector is experiencing a record surge in funding and dealmaking, with rocket manufacturers like Landspace, Space Pioneer, Galactic Energy, and Deep Blue Aerospace securing hundreds of millions of dollars in recent funding rounds. Russia’s space private sector, space tech startups, and the Skolkovo Innovation Center ecosystem are focusing on companies like Dauria Aerospace, Sputnix, Spectralaser, New Energy Technologies, Azmerit, Lin Industrial, Bureau 1440, Future Lab, and Integral Robotics. The US private space startup ecosystem is robust and innovative, with key innovation areas including reusable launch vehicles, satellite servicing, space situational awareness, Earth observation, space-based manufacturing, and satellite internet.

Public Space News (16-20 June)

China’s Tiangong Space Station is in good health, with astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie conducting multidisciplinary space science experiments. The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission, a joint China-ESA mission, is set to launch in 2025. China’s Tianwen-2 mission is progressing, and the station continues to operate with ongoing scientific research and crewed missions.

Russia’s Roscosmos is working on a new cargo ship for the International Space Station (ISS), while NASA and Roscosmos teams are working on ISS maintenance. The 70th anniversary of Baikonur, Russia’s cosmodrome, has been celebrated with photo exhibitions and the most powerful liquid rocket engine, RD-171MV, sent for assembly. NASA’s Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission released its first images, while the X-59 supersonic demonstrator passed a safety and flight readiness review. NASA’s Axiom 4 commercial crew mission to the ISS was postponed due to weather and a Falcon 9 liquid oxygen leak repair. The US Space Technology Ecosystem and Startups are focusing on sustainable lunar technologies and advanced spacecraft. China’s Tiangong Space Station is conducting extensive space science experiments, and India is preparing for the Gaganyaan human spaceflight in 2025.