PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP IN SPACE SECTOR

 

   With the launch of the country’s first privately developed rocket named Vikram-S by ISRO on 18th November 2022   from its facilities at Sriharikota, India has entered into a new era of space programme which is now actively thrown open for private partnership. Earlier, the exploration of the space sector was purely the domain of ISRO, India’s state-owned body which was established under the able leadership of Dr Vikram Sarabhai in 1969.

     In its illustrative career of 53 years, ISRO has not only sent missions for exploring the outer space including the Moon and Mars in its own vehicles but also successfully launched satellites of other nations on a commercial basis. The organization has made India self-reliant in fields of space technology and its application to the cause of national development in areas like agriculture, forest cover mapping, disaster management, weather forecasting, communication etc. It has also demonstrated how crucial space missions could be accomplished with a low investment economy affordable by a developing nation like India.  However, ISRO’s earnings over the years was only 2% of the global space market. Although this is a minuscule amount, India’s space sector aims to make it 8% in coming days by including the active participation of private players in the field. The new space policy announced by the Govt of India will remove most of the constraints faced by the private players, who can now look forward to building satellites, leasing out transponders, building launch vehicles and exploring the whole world of space-based applications. While the transition for NASA to the realm of private sector business took nearly a decade, India can aspire to reach the same status in the next 10 to 15 years with the opening up of its space sector. ISRO is also expanding its launch facilities by developing a third launch pad at Sriharikota and another spaceport in Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu to facilitate increasing use of its infrastructure by private stakeholder parties.

         The Vikram-S rocket was developed by a Hyderabad-based start-up named Skyroot Aerospace Private Limited over a period of 2 years of research and hard work. The 6-meter tall single-stage solid fuelled, sub-orbital rocket soared to an altitude of 89.5 km after its launch and met all the flight parameters and mission objectives   before having a smooth splash down in the Bay of Bengal covering a total time span of nearly 5 minutes. One of the notable features of the mission was that few advanced technologies were incorporated in some of its designs such as the use of carbon composite structures in building its motor casing and 3D printer components in building its thrusters. The Vikram-S Rocket is equipped with a gross lift-off mass of 545kg with a payload mass of 80kg. In its maiden flight, it carried three customer payloads which will map the measurement and validation of certain flight parameters and payload integration processes. The rocket will help validate the technologies that will be used in the subsequent Vikram-1 orbital vehicle of Skyroot that is planned for launch next year, subject to technical clearance from the regulatory authority IN-SPACe. The rocket was named after Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the Father of India’s Space programme.

  The launch of India’s first privately developed rocket was a technology demonstration to showcase the tremendous potentials of Indian private players in the field. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) has been designated as a nodal agency under the Department of Space (DoS) to look after the private sector's access into the field. It has given five authorizations to various space NGEs for undertaking space activities in India and signed sixteen MoUs. Till date, IN-SPACe has received more than 150 applications from different space NGEs for authorization, facilitation, and promotion. Union Minister of State for Science and Technology & Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh, has described the achievement as a new dawn in building India’s space ecosystem.

       The unlocking of the immense potential of the Indian space sector began with a landmark policy decision taken by the government in June 2020. Previously, the role of the private sector was limited only to the supply of satellite hardware to ISRO. But now, the private sector can play a more proactive role by not only building satellite parts or complete satellites but also launching them using ISRO’s facilities subject to clearance from the regulatory authority   IN-SPACe.

             This will also give a boost to the space tourism sector in India which is yet another untapped area to be exploited. Private agencies can now fare prospective tourists in their own vehicles to low earth orbits in zero gravity conditions and present them a glimpse of the uncanny space and the rare view of the earth from that vantage location and earn handsome revenue in return. This is a huge field to be taken advantage of. 

       Space exploration is entering a new era of innovation and change ever since Sputnik-1 sent its first message back to earth. The space race that followed was fuelled by the tensions of the Cold War. It was funded by the US and the USSR, both racing for technological and military supremacy. At the time, only global superpowers had the resources to even imagine a space program. Today, new technologies, new uses of space, and decreasing costs have made space flight far more accessible. Private space companies now can launch satellites, resupply the International Space Station, and even offer spaceflights to private citizens. However, large companies like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman have been involved in space flight for many decades. In contrast, smaller space startups are now creating innovative technologies and developing new industries in space to embark on this new field. These include notably three companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic that hope to push innovation forward to expand humans' reach into the cosmos. India’s entry into this new field is expected to usher in progress and prosperity for the country which will eventually help the whole of humanity to unravel the mysteries of this vast void universe.

Nikunja Bihari Sahu

 Education Officer

Regional Science Centre

Bhopal

Phone: 8917637974

 

To read the same article published in The OrissaPost dtd 22.12.22, please click the following link:

http://odishapostepaper.com/m/188943/63a353c3aed74