Why India can help Global South achieve its space aspirations

Quietly but steadily, India is experiencing a space revolution. Going beyond satellites that it started building in the seventies, it is now set to provide in-orbit services. India is also pumping in $2.32 billion into the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission. By crossing these milestones, India hopes to setup a national space station by 2035, followed by lunar landing five years later.  

In a bid to fulfil its space ambitions, India is leveraging the strengths of two pivotal organisations—the formidable Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the more recently formed In-SPACe.

India’s rise as a space power can majorly contribute not only to its own development, but also of an aspirational Global South.

Launched in 1969 under the stewardship of Indian space scientist Vikram Sarabhai, ISRO has many feathers in its cap. In 1975, it launched from Kapustin Yar, a Soviet rocket launch and development site located in Astrakhan Oblast, Russia, its first self-developed satellite, Aryabhatta.

India’s space programme crossed another major milestone five years later with the launch of the SLV-3, its first satellite launch vehicle—a process that led to the development of the ultra-reliable Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), capable of launching heavier satellites at higher orbits. 

The 21^st century began with the launch of Chandrayaan-1 (2008) mission, which discovered water molecules on the moon. In 2013, ISRO, succeeded in its Mars orbiter mission—the first country to do so in its maiden attempt. In another first four years later, ISRO’s PSLV-C37 launch vehicle launched 104 satellites in a single mission, setting a world record.

While establishing its dazzling track record, ISRO nurtured a vast array of top-notch space technologies. By 2020, it was able to share it with India’s rapidly developing private sector, which had begun to leverage the country’s highly skilled young population.

It is here, in the process of tech transfers to privately owned startups, that Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) comes in.

Setup in June 2020, IN-SPACe has been a catalyst in fostering India’s space-tech revolution by playing a triple role—of regulator, hand holder, and funder. It plays the role of regulator by granting approvals for satellite launches, ground stations, and space-based services. But it is also an essential link in the transfer of ISRO technologies to a rash of startups as well.

Unsurprisingly, IN-Space has facilitated the transfer of more than 10 ISRO-harnessed technologies to private firms engaged in the space business. For instance, it has supplied ISRO-developed inertial sensors, used for navigation, specially where GPS is unavailable, to Zetatek Technologies, a Hyderabad based company specialising in aerospace and defence.

Similarly, it has helped channel ground station systems to Avantel and Jisnu Communications, another Hyderabad based firm specialising in wireless communication systems for defence, aerospace, and satellite platforms.

IN-SPACe has hand held startups by providing them access to ISRO’s launch pads, testing facilities, and ground stations.

It has also financially supported startups by connecting them with venture capitalists, aggregated demand for satellite services and helped in enabling market access. On its own, IN-SPACe recently introduced a $57 million Technology Adoption Fund, offering up to 60% cost coverage for startups. This initiative aims to ease commercialization and bolster local manufacturing capacities.

Last year, India had announced a $119 million venture capital fund to support space startups.

IN-SPACe visualises that by 2033, Indian space economy will reach $44 billion. Space communication will deliver a $14B business, while $12B will be generated by earth observation and navigation tie ups. Launch services and downstream applications will yield another $18B.

India’s half-a-decade old initiative has been a roaring success, energising a space startup ecosystem that holds tremendous promise for India as well as the Global South. Some of the stunning achievements include development of Sisir Radar among several others. Founded by former ISRO director Tapan Misra and team, the Kolkata based startup by next year, plans to launch a high-resolution L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite. Unlike optical sensors, SAR operates day and night, and in all weather conditions, including during heavy cloud cover and rain. It can penetrate vegetation, soil, and even dry snow, making it an ideal tool for monitoring at the surface and subsurface levels.

India’s new space ecosystem is also helping Astrome Technologies, a startup operating from Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) and California. After securing a $10 million fund, the company aspires to expand its footprint in the satellite communication business. Astrome hopes to rapidly rollout 5G and upcoming 6G networks at low cost in remote areas.

Some of the other notable successes flowing out of the ISRO-IN-SPACe stables include Skyroot Aerospace—a company that designs and manufactures rocket engines and launch vehicles customised for small, up to 815 kg satellites. Agnikul Cosmos, another startup has grabbed considerable attention for its ability to build customizable, 3-D printed two-stage rockets, capable of carrying 300 kg payloads to orbits that are around 700 km high.

In January, Bengaluru-based Pixxel made headlines by boarding three hyperspectral imaging satellites aboard a SpaceX rocket. The satellites were part of its first "constellation" of six satellites called Fireflies that take hyperspectral images. This kind of imagery results by capturing light beyond the visible bandwidth. Such pictures are useful in exploring mines, oil, and gas reservoirs, as well as in sectors such as farming and environmental protection.

Digantara is another interesting startup that focuses on situational awareness in space. By integrating multi modal data sets, it can generate something like Google Maps for space, which improves safety of orbiting satellites.

With its dynamic and low-cost forays in space, India is emerging as an ideal partner for the aspirational Global South.

India has already launched satellites for Algeria, Nigeria, Ethiopia (Africa); Argentina, Brazil, Mexico (Latin America); Myanmar, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia (Southeast Asia); and Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan (South Asia).

 The Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP) is an UN-affiliated institution that India hosts in partnership with ISRO, has trained space scientists from Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Vietnam, Laos, Fiji, as well as Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago.

In partnership with Bhutan, India has developed BhuSat satellite. Partnering the six south Asian countries, India has launched GSAT-9.

With India ready for a surge in foreign collaboration, across the globe, there is tremendous opportunity especially for emerging economies and sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf and elsewhere to add financial muscle to New Delhi’s booming startup ecosystem. These opportunities arise at a time when space applications become smarter, nimbler, and cheaper, in tune with the growing demand of the Global South.