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Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh, revealed India’s ambitious goal of increasing its share in the global space market from 2 to 10 percent within the next six years. Pawan Goenka, the chairman of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) shared insights with an Indian media agency on strategies driving this growth.
The focus areas include meeting global demand for small launch vehicles and satellites. “ISRO has already developed a small satellite vehicle (SSLV). Likewise, two private entities Skyroot and Agnikul are also working in this space.
The satellite launch centre at Kulasekarapattinam Space Port is only for smaller launch vehicles where multiple rockets can be launched. We have to attract global satellite for launch from these vehicles,” he said.
Likewise, the focus is on small satellite manufacturing he added. “Satellite manufacturing is a manual process. The skill primarily resides with ISRO. We want to integrate the private sector involvement and increase the demand said Goenka. The hundred-acre manufacturing park coming up at Sanand will also focus in small satellites.”, he said.
Two other focus areas for IN-SPACe include ground station services and space applications. “India’s robust IT sector and customer service capabilities position it as potential hub for space activities. Private sector collaboration can enhance data and imaging services for urban development, weather monitoring and more, thus transforming them into economic activities,” said Goenka.
He added that the private sector is playing a major role in almost all space economies. “A team of 25 persons from Japan visited IN-SPACe on March 4, 2024 to explore collaboration opportunities. They met 50 companies from India and discussed issues ranging from space debris removal to the landing on the moon,” said Goenka.
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