Australian captain Tim Paine predicts who will win World Test Championship "comfortably"; Read here
Sydney: Australian Test team Captain Tim Paine on Monday predicted who will win the World Test Championship (WTC) Finals that will be played between India and New Zealand at the Lords Cricket Ground in England.
In a video posted on Cricket Australia’s official Twitter handle, Paine is seen speaking about what the recently concluded England vs New Zealand Test series mean for his team ahead of the Ashes.
Paine said he has been keeping an eye on England’s form ahead of the Ashes summers. He added that the England did not field their best XI for the matches against New Zealand in the absence of players like Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer and that he is expecting them to get better when these players come back into the squad.
When asked who he thinks will win the WTC final that will be played between June 18-22 between India and New Zealand, Paine said India will win the championship “pretty comfortably” if it plays anywhere near their best.
Tim Paine has been keeping an eye on England's form ahead of the #Ashes summer - and the Aussie Test skipper also shares his prediction for the #WTC21 Final... pic.twitter.com/zGO3hZbYxv
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) June 14, 2021
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Indian startup's 'Drishti' satellite launched aboard SpaceX rocket
New Delhi (PTI): Bengaluru-based space start-up GalaxEye's Mission Drishti satellite was launched on Sunday aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from California.
Mission Drishti is the world's first OptoSAR satellite, integrating electro-optical (EO) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors into a single operational platform, according to the company.
While EO sensors capture high-resolution images during sunlight and clear skies, SAR sensors provide all-weather and all-time images, using radar pulses.
In a statement, Suyash Singh, founder and CEO of GalaxEye, said, "With the satellite (Mission Drishti) now successfully in orbit, our immediate focus is on completing its commissioning. As we move through this phase, we are already witnessing strong global interest in the differentiated datasets enabled by our OptoSAR payload."
The satellite will help address long-standing limitations of conventional systems and enable more reliable and consistent data acquisition across diverse environmental conditions, the company said.
As a dual-use Earth observation satellite, the mission will support use cases across defence, agriculture, disaster management, maritime monitoring, and infrastructure planning.
The satellite is also expected to complement India's broader initiatives, including the 29 active Earth Observation satellites outlined in ISRO's recent annual report.
The launch came after five years of indigenous research and development, and extensive environmental testing and performance validation of the Mission Drishti.
In a statement, Lt Gen AK Bhatt (Retd), director general of Indian Space Association (ISpA), said, "GalaxEye has achieved what only a few global players have, which is seamlessly combining optical and SAR capabilities on a single platform to enable persistent, all-weather intelligence."
What stands out is not just the technology, but its broader impact on how downstream applications will increasingly define value in the space economy, particularly in Earth observation, where timely, decision-grade insights are critical," he added.
ISpA is the premier industry association of space and satellite companies in the country.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh also took note of the Mission Drishti launch, saying the development marked a significant milestone in India's space journey.
In a post on X, the minister said, "The successful launch of the world's first OptoSAR satellite, and the largest privately-built satellite in the country, reflects the immense potential of our young innovators driving nation-building."
GalaxEye aims to scale up Mission Drishti to a constellation of 10 satellites by 2030, developing a robust and sovereign Earth observation infrastructure for India.
