Expo 2020 Dubai: India ready for private-funded space missions, top scientist says

Dubai - Private sector can venture into building and launching satellites, owning and operating satellites, and providing space-based services.

India is ready for private-funded space launches and the country’s space sector offers “tremendous opportunities” for the private sector to tap into the spiralling demand for space-based services and applications, a top Indian space scientist has said.

“The whole gamut on the landscape of space activity has changed from the earlier government funded and government conducted space activities. Now, we are going towards private funded and private conducted space activities,” R. Umamaheswaran, Scientific Secretary to ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation, said at Expo 2020 on Sunday.

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With the dynamics of space activities happening all around the world spiralling, he said ISRO as a government organisation alone will be “totally insufficient” to handle this new demand.

“So basically, the opportunities are unlimited as far as this business is concerned. I am sure nowadays - at least from my interactions in the last one and a half years - the private sector, definitely is ready for making the launch vehicle, making the satellites and providing the space-based services,” said the official while speaking at the “Opportunities in Aerospace, Defence and Space Sector of Karnataka” seminar held at the India pavilion at Expo 2020.

He said ISRO will, however, continue to do its own job of making missions of national importance and of social relevance.

Recapping the Indian national space organisation's achievements over the last decades, Umamaheswaran said ISRO has till date undertaken 78 successful launch vehicle missions, 111 satellite missions, and more than 250 application-oriented missions in addition to 330 satellites launched for other countries, and four technological demonstrations for other missions.

“As assets, we have 50 satellites, 19 communication satellites, two metrological satellites, 18 earth observation satellites, and 8 navigation satellites.”

But it is high-time, Umamaheswaran said, the space sector takes onboard the private players as well as the academia into confidence, and encourage them to do these activities, which will ultimately result in making the Indian economy much better, stronger and vibrant.

He said ISRO has undergone modifications keeping the changes in mind. “We have established a new regulatory mechanism, which is called IN-SPACEe that is mandated to draw regulations and to advise and handhold private entities interested in space activities.”

IN-SPACE2, a pan-India entity will be the latest addition to ISRO that has seven major centres, seven units and five autonomous bodies under the Department of Space.

IAS, Commissioner for Industrial Development also spoke at the session highlighting Karnataka’s immense potential as an aerospace hub and a favoured investment destination.