NAL to develop drones for civilian use: Minister
Bengaluru, Aug 13 : State-run National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) will develop drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for civilian use in various sectors, a Union Minister said on Monday.
"The UAVs developed at NAL will be used in surveillance, agriculture, health, forests, mining and other civil sectors," Union Minister for Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan told reporters after unveiling NAL's UAV design and integration facility here.
Noting that the drones will help boost productivity in every sector with better monitoring, Vardhan said the UAV use will contribute to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Stating that every technology developed needs to find its use in public and private sectors, Vardhan said that NAL, working under the aegis of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), will also accept commercial orders for developing drones.
NAL Director Jitendra J. Jadhav told IANS that the hi-tech facility, set up at a cost of Rs 2 crore, has an installed capacity to develop 30 drones a month.
The facility can design, prototype and develop drones that can carry payloads from 5kg-100 kg with a two-metre wing span.
The NAL will make prototypes and tie-up with state-run firms like Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) or a private partner to manufacture the drones in case of large orders.
"The UAVs are as important as fighter aircraft," the Minister added.
Apart from the critical strategic and commercial surveillance, drones find their use in mapping of crops, mines and water bodies, search and rescue operations, transport of medicines or organs for transplantation.
The state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation, which also develops UAVs, makes drone technologies with a payload capacity up to 250 kg.
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ISRO sucessfully docks satellites as part of SpaDeX Mission
Bengaluru (PTI): ISRO on Thursday successfully performed the docking of satellites as part of the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX).
"India docked its name in space history! Good Morning India ISRO’s SpaDeX mission accomplishes historic docking success. Proud to witness this moment!", ISRO said in a post on 'X'.
Earlier on January 12, ISRO brought the two spacecraft to three metres and then moved them back to safe distance in its trial attempt to dock the satellites.
ISRO had successfully launched the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission on December 30, 2024.
The PSLV C60 rocket carrying two small satellites, SDX01 (Chaser) and SDX02 (Target), along with 24 payloads, had lifted off from the first launchpad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, and about 15 minutes after liftoff, the two small spacecraft weighing about 220 kg each were launched into a 475-km circular orbit as intended.
According to ISRO, the SpaDeX mission is a cost-effective technology demonstrator mission for the demonstration of in-space docking using two small spacecraft that was launched by PSLV.
In space, docking technology is essential when multiple rocket launches are required to achieve common mission objectives.
