Devaki Raj

IndiGO Cancellations RCA 😇 🤩 Regulatory underestimation: IndiGo failed to anticipate actual crew requirements under Phase-2 FDTL implementation, creating a significant crew availability gap, especially for night operations.​ Timing mismatch: The airline simultaneously expanded winter schedule frequencies (October 26) while pilots were forced into compulsory rest under new rules, creating a capacity crunch.​ Technical cascades: An Airbus A320 software advisory triggered weekend delays that pushed flights past midnight, converting delays into cancellations once new rest rules activated.​ Inadequate response infrastructure: Insufficient passenger-handling staff at major terminals (particularly Delhi Terminal 1) complicated passenger management during the crisis.​ #IndiGO #India #IndianAirlines IndiGo (InterGlobe Aviation Ltd)

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Over the last few days at a conference, one theme kept surfacing: "How do we actually build a sustainable, functioning space economy?" Infrastructure. Capital. Policy. Talent. All critical. But there’s a missing layer most people aren’t talking about. If the public does not understand space as infrastructure, not spectacle, long-term sustainability becomes fragile. So I’m moving this piece up in the queue. If we want a durable space economy, we need cultural gravity around it. Not hype. Not fear. Real relevance. I’m willing to help organize the first working group if there’s serious momentum behind an industry-wide Initiative. If you think this matters, read it and weigh in. https://lnkd.in/emrUZXvw

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The concept of “space dominance” is increasingly becoming a priority for the White House and the US Space Force. Paradoxically, the surest way to accomplish this strategic goal is not by leaning on military command and control, but by unleashing the creative energies of private sector pioneers in the context of a free and competitive market. As was the case with the development of the American West and the Internet, policymakers can better incentivize the rapid scaling of a commercial space economy by reducing the barriers to investment and entrepreneurship as opposed to choosing winners and losers or otherwise attempting to direct the industry’s development. The commercial space economy is ready to scale and can deliver tremendous benefits to America’s strategic interests in the process. https://lnkd.in/gCYmpqkh

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The United States Air Force is turning to #atomic_clock technology to help coordinate #swarms of small #drones in environments where traditional #satellite #navigation is jammed or spoofed, according to a new request for information (#RFI) released by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The initiative seeks to develop advanced position, navigation, and timing (#PNT) systems that allow #unmanned #aircraft to operate and maneuver collectively without relying on the Global Positioning System (#GPS), which has become increasingly vulnerable to #electronic #warfare. Source https://lnkd.in/d6f_-CXT https://lnkd.in/d6f_-CXT

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Rethinking Aviation Safety: Is It Time to Talk About Pilotless Airliners? In the wake of the recent Air India 787 crash investigation, we’re left with more questions than answers—and perhaps that’s intentional. The preliminary report left out the timeline, the cockpit transcript, and instead zeroed in on two facts: both engine fuel supply switches were manually shut off, seconds after takeoff, barely a second apart. On the cockpit voice recorder, one pilot asked, “Why did you cutoff?”; the other denied doing so. This isn’t the first time official investigations have sidestepped the hardest questions: • EgyptAir 990 (1999): U.S. found it was intentional; Egypt rejected the conclusion. • SilkAir 185 (1997): No verdict from Indonesia; U.S. called it pilot suicide. • China Eastern 5735 (2022): No finding, despite leaks pointing to deliberate action. • Malaysia Airlines MH370 (2014): Conclusion avoided; evidence of a pilot deviating from flight plan omitted. • Contrast: France and Germany quickly affirmed the 2015 Germanwings crash as a deliberate act and were forthright in criticizing pilot error in several cases. There’s an unsettling pattern: Reluctance to implicate local pilots, especially when Western aircraft are involved. If a future probe finds a technical anomaly in the Air India crash, investigators may have failed the aviation community by not confronting every possibility from the outset. But let’s ask the uncomfortable questions: • Are we expecting too much from cockpit crews when their skills atrophy on increasingly automated flights? • Should we be exploring remote or ground control, leveraging real-time data, and embracing continuous black box data transmission to prevent vanished flights like MH370? • Why are we more open to driverless cars than pilotless planes, when the latter face far fewer split-second hazards? • Why do we remain silent about whether next-gen jets should be less centered around human pilots? Aviation’s future safety may depend not just on better planes, but on the courage to debate whether pilots should be at the center of the cockpit at all. Is the time overdue for an honest conversation about autonomous or remotely operated airliners? Let’s break the silence—for passengers, for families, and for the integrity of global aviation. #NextGenAviation #AviationSafety #Automation #AirIndia #MH370 #PilotlessFuture

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The Structure of Ice in Space Is Neither Order nor Chaos—It’s Both Long thought to be completely disordered, space ice appears to have some crystallized regions, new research suggests. https://lnkd.in/ecMKtYWu The article discusses the unique structure of ice in space, which differs from Earth’s crystalline ice due to the extreme conditions of space, such as vacuum and low temperatures. Previously thought to be entirely amorphous (lacking organized structure), new research published in Physical Review B suggests space ice contains small crystalline regions (about 3 nanometers wide) within a predominantly disordered structure. This finding comes from computer simulations and lab experiments mimicking space ice formation, where water vapor freezes directly onto a cold surface without becoming liquid. The study indicates space ice is approximately 20% crystalline and 80% amorphous. Understanding this structure is crucial for studying planet formation, estimating water in other solar systems, and exploring panspermia—the hypothesis that life’s building blocks arrived on Earth via space ice. Crystalline regions reduce the likelihood of panspermia due to less space for organic compounds, while amorphous ice could potentially carry such “seeds” of life.

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In Logan, Small Satellite Conference (SmallSat) felt like a summer festival for space. You could step outside between sessions, feel the sun, and run into people you had only met online. Every booth was the same size, and it felt like we were all playing on the same field. Salt Lake City changed that. It is easier to reach, easier to stay, easier to move around. But the outdoor spaces are gone, and the booths now tell you who paid the most. The energy is still there, but the texture has shifted. The official program ends in the afternoon, but the real SmallSat continues long after. In the evening, people gather in places that are not about business cards or scheduled meetings. Newcomers find themselves talking to industry veterans over a drink, and conversations drift far from pitch decks and product slides. These moments create something the exhibition hall cannot — trust. They turn a market into an ecosystem and an ecosystem into a community. I hope we never lose this side of SmallSat. This year, SmallSat felt like two different stories. One is told by Salt Lake City itself, with its hotels, its short transfers, and the ease of moving people and equipment. The other is told by what we left behind in Logan: outdoor spaces where conversations spilled into the sunshine, a sense of equality that went beyond logos and budgets. Yet some things have not changed. The side conversations still reveal the real challenges: finding launch capacity, supporting niche orbits, managing tariffs, and chasing standardization. And the evening gatherings still weave newcomers into the fabric of the community. #SmallSat #SpaceCommunity #SatelliteIndustry #SpaceConferences #SpaceNetworking

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🚀 Space Technology & Exploration: The “New Normal” is Incredible (and Fast) Year 2025 continued the trend from the past two years when space has shifted from “ambitious roadmaps” to repeatable execution - driven by a powerful mix of national programs + commercial scale. Major breakthroughs shaping the next decade: 🌕 The Moon is open for business (again) 
Commercial lunar delivery is now real: Firefly’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 achieved a successful lunar landing and surface ops, while Intuitive Machines continued pushing south-pole access with IM-2 (hard lessons, real progress). 🇨🇳 China’s far-side lunar sample return changed the game 
Chang’e-6 returned about 1,935 grams of samples from the Moon’s far side scientifically priceless and geopolitically significant. 🇮🇳 India is building core “human-spaceflight-class” capabilities 
ISRO advanced Gaganyaan with key recovery/parachute testing and demonstrated space docking (SPADEX) - a foundational capability for stations, servicing, and exploration logistics. India’s private sector has entered a new phase with companies like #skyroot aerospace demonstrating the capability to develop its own launch vehicle with a mission to democratize the space. 🛰️ On-orbit servicing is moving from concept to demos 
A newly revealed private “Remora” mission demonstrated autonomous rendezvous/proximity operations - critical for future inspection, repair, refueling, and debris mitigation. 📡 Launch + constellations are scaling at industrial speed 
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 cadence remains historically high (including ~160+ launches in 2025), while Rocket Lab’s tempo signals a broader competitive launch market. 🇪🇺 Europe is back in stride with Ariane 6 
Ariane 6 is now flying multiple missions - including Galileo deployments - strengthening European access-to-space resilience. 💰 Funding & resources: strong top-lines, tighter risk capital * According to Space Foundation, the global space economy hit ~$613B (2024), with commercial activity driving most growth. * Governments are spending heavily (including defense), and defense demand is increasingly shaping investment. * Europe just approved record ESA funding (€22.3B) - a clear strategic signal. * At the same time, VC remains more selective than the 2021-era peak (consolidation + “flight-proven” traction matter more than hype). Bottom line: Space has entered a phase where capability compounding is the story - reusable launch, commercial lunar logistics, autonomous rendezvous, mega-constellations, and national strategic funding all reinforcing each other. What development do you think will be the biggest unlock next: in-orbit refueling, commercial stations, lunar surface power, or truly reusable heavy lift? #Space #NewSpace #Aerospace #Satellites #Lunar #SpaceTech #DefenseTech #InOrbitServicing #Exploration #Innovation #skyrootaerospace

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