Good morning! Morning Minutes is a round-up of stories that will break on Wednesday, Dec 16, and which we think you'd be interested in.

It appears on weekdays, available by 7am.

India to launch Singapore-made satellites

India will launch six Singapore-made satellites at 8.30pm Singapore time today (Dec 16), marking Singapore's boldest leap yet into space.

The satellites will be fired into orbit on the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from the Sriharikota rocket port in south-eastern Andhra Pradesh state.

They are scheduled to go into a 550km circular orbit inclined at 15 degrees to the equator, India media reported. The launch comes four years after Singapore put its first home-grown micro-satellite in space, also with the help of India.

Singapore polar bear Inuka marks 25th birthday

The Singapore Zoo and the Royal Danish Embassy will launch a photo exhibition on the Arctic today (Dec 16) to mark 50 years of ties between Singapore and Denmark, as well as to celebrate the 25th birthday of Inuka, the first polar bear born in the tropics.

The exhibition will be held at the zoo's Frozen Tundra exhibit, of which Inuka is the star attraction.

The Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) Foundation, the charity arm of media group SPH, has supported the upkeep of the polar bear since it was delivered in the zoo on Dec 26, 1990. - MELISSA LIN

US housing market data out today

More data on the United States' housing and property market will be released today. Investors will be paying close attention to the housing starts - how many new homes are being constructed - as a key indicator of the health of the market there.

The data could also sway the US Federal Reserve governors, who will present their interest rate decision after two days of meetings early on Thursday morning, Singapore time.