ISRO to launch communication satellite of US-based AST SpaceMobile on Dec 24
Bengaluru (PTI): ISRO's LVM3 rocket will launch a communication satellite of a US-based firm AST SpaceMobile on December 24.
"The launch of LVM3-M6 is scheduled on 24 December 2025 at 08:54 hrs IST from the Second Launch Pad, SDSC SHAR (Satish Dhawan Space Centre), Sriharikota," ISRO posted on "X' on Friday.
According to official sources, LVM3-M6 is a dedicated commercial launch of "BlueBird Block-2" satellite of AST SpaceMobile Inc., USA, through a commercial agreement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL).
AST SpaceMobile on its website said that the next-generation BlueBird satellites are designed to deliver 24/7 high-speed cellular broadband directly to everyday smartphones worldwide.
These advanced satellites feature nearly 2,400 square feet arrays, which will make them the largest commercial phased arrays ever deployed in low Earth orbit, surpassing the previous record held by our first-generation BlueBirds at 693 square feet.
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Karnataka govt tables Rs 14,767 cr supplementary estimates in assembly
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Monday tabled the supplementary estimates in the assembly, totalling Rs 14,767 crore of additional expenditure for the current fiscal.
Tabled by Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on behalf of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, supplementary estimates are additional expenditures incurred by the government over and above the budget provisions.
In the fiscal ending March, additional expenditures include Rs 147 crore on the Sadhana Samavesha to mark two years of the Congress government and Rs 223 crore for railway barricading to prevent human-elephant conflict.
As per the supplementary estimates, the government spent Rs 1.25 crore to purchase a Volvo XC90 for former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.
It also includes -- Rs 1,025 crore to clear various irrigation works bills, Rs 15 crore for helicopter and air travels by Governor, CM, ministers and other VIPs, Rs 110 crore towards scholarship and tuition fee reimbursement for minority students, Rs 15 crore for development of various temples, maths and trusts.
The government also spent Rs 1.4 crore to print a book comprising 'selected' speeches of Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot, Rs 50 lakh to clear pending electricity and water bills of ministers' residences, Rs 10 crore towards rehabilitation of families affected by landslides at Meppadi in Wayanad, Kerala.
Rs 5 crore each for Brahmin Development Board and Arya-Vysya Development Corporation, Rs 60 lakh to Supreme Court senior advocate Kapil Sibal for two appearances representing the government, Rs 5.13 crore towards bills from the Belagavi winter session of the legislature, Rs 5.5 crore towards pending bills from the 2019 and 2021 Assembly bypolls and the upcoming Davangere South and Bagalkot bypolls, are among the expenditures incurred.
