News Bytes

NASA SPHEREx telescope launched to study universe's origins

A NASA telescope was launched into space from California on Tuesday for a mission to explore the origins of the universe and to scour the Milky Way galaxy for hidden reservoirs of water, a key ingredient for life. The US space agency's megaphone-shaped SPHEREx - short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer - was carried aloft by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

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 Jio signs satellite internet deal with Musk's Starlink

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio announced a pact with Elonk Musk's SpaceX to bring Starlink satellite internet services in India, a surprise move that follows months of bickering over how Musk's venture should be granted spectrum. The deal with Musk - considered the right-hand-man to US President Donald Trump - comes a day after telecom tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal's Bharti Airtel signed a similar partnership deal with SpaceX. This agreement "is subject to SpaceX receiving its own authorisations to sell Starlink in India", Jio Platforms - the company that holds telecom and digital properties of Reliance group - said in a statement on Wednesday.

Jio will offer Starlink equipment through its retail outlets as well as through its online storefronts. Jio and SpaceX will also explore how they can boost each other's offerings.

Greenland's independence gradualists win election

Greenland's pro-business opposition Demokraatit party, which favours a slow approach to independence from Denmark, won Tuesday's parliamentary election that was dominated by US President Donald Trump's pledge to take control of the island. Demokraatit secured 29.9% of the votes with all ballots counted, up from 9.1% in 2021, ahead of the opposition Naleraq party, which favours rapid independence, at 24.5%.