AirAsia’s Indian joint venture will be delayed a couple of months beyond the planned December launch, says a senior Indian government official. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s Director General Arun Mishra says the airline, AirAsia India, must first take possession of its fleet, which requires an import license. Then “we should be able to give the permit in the next two months,” says Mishra. AirAsia in July announced plans to invest $30 million to start a low-cost airline in India with local investors the Tata Group and Telestra Tradeplace.

NEW DELHI — India’s ambitious Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) is shooting for a first flight test in 2014. Defense scientists are conducting a series of tests and have already achieved some milestones in terms of engine development. “We are working on a demonstrator vehicle in the hypersonic space which will hopefully lead us to design hypersonic vehicles and ways to manage the thermal environment,” says V.G. Sekaran, director general for missiles and strategic systems at the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO).

NEW DELHI — India’s Mars probe, currently orbiting Earth before it embarks on a nine-month journey to the red planet, has activated its Mars Color Camera (MCC) and sent back its first images. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has shared a single image of India and the surrounding region taken on Nov. 19 at 13:50 (IST) at a resolution of 3.53 km from an altitude of 67,975 km. The photo clearly shows India, the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, the Himalayas and the Indo-Gangetic plain.