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<ul class="summary-list"><li>India has unveiled a "female" humanoid robot which it plans to send into space in 2020 as part of an unmanned mission.</li><li>The robot, which doesn't have any legs, is called 'Vyommitra'. A prototype of the robot was unveiled Wednesday by the country's space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation.</li><li>Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is looking to establish the country as a major player in the space industry.</li><li>But some of India's space forays have not gone well to date.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/international?r=US&amp;IR=T">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul>India has unveiled a "female" humanoid robot that it plans to launch into space in 2020.On Wednesday, the country's space agency - the Indian Space Research Organisation - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddm4US8B4qI&amp;feature=emb_logo">showcased a prototype of 'Vyommitra,' a humanoid robot it describes as "a woman.</a>"Vyommitra will reportedly speak two languages and will fly on an unspecified unmanned mission this year. Though the robot appears to be dexterous, it doesn't seem to have any legs, raising the question of why it needs a physical form at all. Vyommitra's development forms but a small part of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi's ambitious, ongoing plans to establish India as a space industry player. You can see a video of Vyommitra via The Times of India:The ISRO is preparing for the Gaganyaan mission, the country's first attempt at sending humans into space and Vyommitra is part of the prep.Not all of India's attempts to conquer space have gone smoothly.The ISRO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-lost-contact-with-moon-lander-indicating-crash-2019-9?r=US&amp;IR=T">failed in an attempt to place a lunar lander on the moon earlier in January, with the ground crew losing touch of the lander</a>. The mission cost an estimated $145 million - nearly one-tenth of the agency's meager <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/we-have-liftoff-india-launches-moon-mission-on-second-attempt/2019/07/22/8a1cb69c-aa34-11e9-8733-48c87235f396_story.html">reported annual budget of $1.8 billion</a>, Despite Modi's space-faring ambitions, India's recent actions in space have come under fire from NASA. India <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-in-india-just-shot-down-a-low-orbit-satellite-in-space-2019-3?r=US&amp;IR=T">shot down a satellite as part of a missile launch</a> in March 2019, leaving millions of pieces of space debris.NASA condemned its actions as "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-space-junk-india-destroying-missile-threaten-international-space-station-terrible-thing-2019-4?r=US&amp;IR=T">a terrible, terrible thing"</a> and claimed it had endangered the lives of astronauts aboard the International Space Station.For his part, Modi was bullish in the wake of the launch, claiming it proved India was now a "<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-satellite/modi-hails-india-as-military-space-power-after-anti-satellite-missile-test-idUSKCN1R80IA">space power</a>."

India wants to send a legless, female humanoid robot called 'Vyommitra' into space

The <keyword id="9387733" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="first-unmanned-test-flight">first unmanned test flight</keyword> of Indian rocket <keyword id="502946" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Geosynchronous-Satellite-Launch-Vehicle">Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle</keyword> (GSLV), as part of the country's human space mission Gaganyaan, will not happen this year, said officials. <keyword id="4491776" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="The-Indian-Space-Research-Organisation">The Indian Space Research Organisation</keyword> (<keyword id="6358064" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="isro">ISRO</keyword>) had planned the first of the two test flights later this year. "The first flight of the rocket as part of <keyword id="6827364" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gaganyaan-mission">Gaganyaan mission</keyword> will not happen this year (2020)," a senior ISRO official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told IANS. While the actual reason for the delay is not known, perhaps the Covid-19 lockdown had its impact on the first test flight. In his address at the 70th Annual General Meeting and National Conference on "Recent Developments in Aerospace and Defence Technology" organised by Aeronautical Society of India in February, ISRO chief K. Sivan had said that the "design and engineering of the launch vehicle and orbital module system for India's human space flight has been completed. A series of tests have to be competed to validate the design and engineering of the systems in 2020". As per the original plans, during the first test flight ISRO would send its humanoid Vyommitra. The human space flight demonstration is planned before India's 75th Independence Day in 2022 and four Indians are undergoing astronaut training in Russia. Meanwhile, suspense continues on the revised date of launch of India's first Geo Imaging Satellite-1 (GISAT-1). On March 4, a day before the scheduled launch GISAT-1 onboard the GSLV-F10 rocket and hours before the start of the launch countdown, ISRO announced postponement of the mission owing to some technical glitch. The ISRO did not share any detail about the technical glitch and its rectification since then. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/a-russian-rocket-broke-up-in-space-above-the-indian-ocean-leaving-dangerous-debris-in-its-wake/articleshow/75667093.cms">A Russian rocket broke up in space above the Indian Ocean — leaving dangerous debris in its wake</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/china-ahead-of-india-in-human-spaceflight-after-successful-landing-on-spacecraft/articleshow/75621273.cms">China’s unmanned spacecraft makes a successful return to Earth⁠— racing ahead of India on the path to having a space station</a>

Gaganyaan's first unmanned test flight won't be happening this year

Getty/Business InsiderDonald Trump says he's not scared of Mark Zuckerberg running for president.Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Friday.<ol><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lauren-sanchez-jeff-bezos-affair-brother-signed-contract-national-enquirer-2020-1?r=US&amp;IR=T">A New York Times report shed new light on how The National Enquirer tabloid came to possess intimate photos of Jeff Bezos and his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez</a>. The report suggests that she sent them to her brother, Michael, who sold them to The National Enquirer. Bezos later said they were used to extort him.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-douyin-tiktok-launches-feature-to-help-fight-virus-2020-1?r=US&amp;IR=T">China's version of TikTok launched a feature to spread awareness and fight Wuhan coronavirus</a>. The coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China, has killed at least 18 people and infected more than 630.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/president-donald-trump-facebook-mark-zuckerberg-running-for-president-2020-1?r=US&amp;IR=T">President Trump said Mark Zuckerberg running for president "wouldn't be too frightening."</a> Trump also praised Zuckerberg's handling of political ads, which Facebook has taken a hard stand on not fact-checking.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktoks-la-office-for-battling-youtube-instagram-2020-1?r=US&amp;IR=T">TikTok revealed its new five-story LA office, showing its commitment to battling US social media giants like Instagram and Youtube</a>. TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, which is currently seeking a new head for US operations.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/huawei-victory-trump-uk-government-defies-5g-warnings-2020-1?r=US&amp;IR=T">UK officials are to propose allowing Huawei to build parts of the country's 5G infrastructure, sources told Reuters</a>. The proposal defies intense pressure from US officials to ban Huawei completely from the UK's 5G networks.</li><li><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/23/match-group-invests-in-noonlight-to-power-new-safety-features-in-tinder-and-other-dating-apps/">Tinder's parent company partnered with safety platform Noonlight to add a range of new safety features to its dating apps, TechCrunch reports</a>. The new features include a panic button and user photo verification.</li><li><a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/clearview-ai-nypd-facial-recognition">Police disputed the claims from facial recognition startup Clearview AI that it had helped solve a terrorism case, BuzzFeed reports</a>. The firm amassed billions of photos of people's faces by scraping social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-ads-search-results-design-nearly-identical-people-furious-2020-1?r=US&amp;IR=T">Google made a big change to search results that makes it harder to distinguish ads from regular results</a>. Some observers questioned whether Google was trying to intentionally steer users to click on ads through a practice known as "dark-pattern" design.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/george-soros-facebook-trump-election-conspiracy-2020-1?r=US&amp;IR=T">Hungarian-American investor George Soros said President Trump is conspiring with Facebook to get reelected</a>. Speaking at Davos on Thursday, Soros said he thinks there's an "informal mutual assistance operation developing between Trump and Facebook."</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-female-robot-vyommitra-space-2020-1?r=US&amp;IR=T">India wants to send a legless, female humanoid robot called "Vyommitra" into space</a>. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi is looking to establish the country as a major player in the space industry. </li></ol>Have an Amazon Alexa device? Now you can hear 10 Things in Tech each morning. Just search for "Business Insider" in your Alexa's flash briefing settings.You can also <a href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/free">subscribe to this newsletter</a> here - just tick "10 Things in Tech You Need to Know. <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-spacex-blew-up-rocket-on-purpose-2020-1">SpaceX and NASA just blew up a Falcon 9 rocket on purpose, and it has something to do with Apollo 1</a></h3>

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<ul><li>At the start of 2020, Indian Space Research Organisation (<keyword id="6358064" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="isro">ISRO</keyword>) Chairman and Secretary Department of Space K. Sivan said that the space agency was planning to have 25 launches. </li><li>All was going well for ISRO after the crashlanding of India's moon lander Vikram on the lunar surface in 2019.</li><li>The first setback of the year for ISRO came on March 4, when it had to call off the launch of GISAT-1, a day before its actual launch, owing to technical reasons. </li></ul>What would have been an insipid first half of the calendar year 2020 for the Indian space agency turned a bit interesting towards the end, with the government announcing its decision to open up the sector to private participation. At the start of 2020, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman and Secretary Department of Space K. Sivan said that the space agency was planning to have 25 launches -- including Aditya-L1 satellite, <keyword id="1512353" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Geo-Imaging-Satellite">Geo Imaging Satellite</keyword> (GISAT-1), realisation of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) or small rocket (carrying capacity 500 kg), navigation satellite with indigenous atomic clocks and <keyword id="9550825" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-data-relay-satellite-system">Indian Data Relay Satellite System</keyword> (IDRSS), and GSAT-20 satellite with electric propulsion. Sivan also said India will embark on its third moon mission 'Chandrayaan-3' and attempt to land a lander on the lunar surface sometime in 2020-21. All was going well for ISRO after the crashlanding of India's moon lander Vikram on the lunar surface in 2019. The year began well ISRO with the launch of the 3,357 kg communication satellite GSAT-30 by the European space agency Arianespace rocket Ariane 5 on January 17. The ISRO also showcased its robot/half-humanoid -- Vyommitra - which was part of its human space mission programme 'Gaganyaan'. The first setback of the year for ISRO came on March 4, when it had to call off the launch of GISAT-1, a day before its actual launch, owing to technical reasons. The ISRO did not share any detail about the technical reasons, or the glitch, and its rectification since then. It is also not known when the satellite with a very good camera would be launched. Then came the Covid-19 lockdown within and outside India that had its cascading impact on ISRO's core plans like the realisation of SSLV, launch of GISAT-1, delay in the first test-flight of the rocket as part of Gaganyaan mission. "During the lockdown, industries that were supplying components were not working. Our own officials were not able to attend office. Further travel to Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh for satellite launch by the officials were not possible due to the lockdown," Sivan told IANS. It is also not known when ISRO will be able to restart its satellite launch operations. With coronavirus infection spreading fast in the county, ISRO also started work on developing a low-cost ventilator and sanitiser. Meanwhile, two positive developments happened for ISRO -- securing an Indian patent for its liquid cooling and heating garment (LCHG) suitable for space applications and for its method of manufacturing highland lunar soil simulant or simply lunar/moon soil. On May 16, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that Indian private sector will be a co-traveller in India's space-sector journey and a level-playing field will be provided for them in satellites, launches, and space-based services. She also said that a predictable policy and regulatory environment will be provided to private players. The future projects for planetary exploration, outer space travel and others are to be opened up for the private sector, adding there will be a liberal geo-spatial data policy for providing remote-sensing data to tech-entrepreneurs subject to various checks. Welcoming the announcement, sectoral experts suggested various models for restructuring of ISRO and also urged the government to set up an independent regulator and also enact necessary legislation. On June 24, the Union Cabinet decided to set up Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), making ISRO to focus on research and development (R&amp;D) of new technologies, exploration missions, and human spaceflight programme. Singh said the Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to set up IN-SPACe to provide a level playing field for private companies to use Indian space infrastructure. He also said the New Space India Limited (NSIL) will endeavour to re-orient space activities from a 'supply driven' model to 'demand driven' model, thereby ensuring optimum utilisation of the country's space assets. Former ISRO Chairman <keyword id="52158" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="madhavan-nair">Madhavan Nair</keyword> said there should be a national space law to define responsibilities and liabilities. Pointing out the role envisaged for IN-SPACe and the demand for a sectoral regulator, when queried whether the proposed body could be converted into the space sector regulator, Sivan told IANS: "IN-SPACe could be turned into a regulatory body when the necessary laws and regulations are in place." "We are on the job of getting ready the Space Activities Bill. It will define the space activities, liabilities and other aspects," he added. As part of the reform process, new navigation policy is also being proposed. Suitable changes in the remote sensing data policy as well as SATCOM policy are on the anvil to align them to an open and inclusive space sector, said Sivan. "The best is to establish an independent regulator -- <keyword id="9550824" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="space-regulatory-authority-of-india">Space Regulatory Authority of India</keyword> (SRAI) -- which will create a level-playing field for many of the emerging players," Narayan Prasad, Chief Operating Officer, satsearch, told IANS. Establishing an independent regulator could allow a systematic review and reforms on a continuous basis rather than one-off announcements, Prasad said. As per current scheme of things, IN-SPACe will have its own directorates for technical, legal, safety and security, monitoring as well as activities promotion for assessing the private sector's needs and coordination of the activities. IN-SPACe would have a board and representatives from industry, academia and the government, Sivan said. "Initially, IN-SPACe will be manned by people from the existing space setup. Later, people from outside will be taken in. It will have its funds from the budgetary allocations for the DoS. The new body may not need big financial allocations," Sivan remarked. Stressing that the ISRO's importance will not diminish with the entry of IN-SPACe, Sivan said all the existing centres - manufacturing, services, rocket launch centres - would continue to be with the ISRO. "The ISRO will be involved in research and development in advanced technologies, human space missions. It will also share its technological expertise with the private parties. The proposed new body will not disturb the existing ones. It will be another autonomous body," Sivan said. Industry officials are hoping to see further steps being taken by the government regarding the space sector during the second half of 2020. But as regards the satellite launches - domestic as well as foreign for a fee - by ISRO during the year depends on the spread or control of coronavirus and the resultant lockdown. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/photographer-of-the-viral-black-panther-images-from-india-shares-his-story/articleshow/76830618.cms">INTERVIEW: Shaaz Jung opens up about the blood, sweat and years behind the viral images of a rare black panther</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/harvard-and-mit-are-suing-ice-to-block-its-order-forcing-international-students-to-leave-the-us-if-their-course-is-online-only/articleshow/76856699.cms">Harvard, MIT, and Northeastern University are suing ICE to block its order forcing international students to leave the US if their course is online-only</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/russian-scammers-are-conning-senior-executives-into-giving-away-2-7-million-by-impersonating-real-ceos-and-lawyers/articleshow/76849870.cms">Russian scammers are conning senior executives into giving away $2.7 million by impersonating real CEOs and lawyers</a>

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India wants to send a legless, female humanoid robot called 'Vyommitra' into space

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