A draft policy on opening up India’s space sector is expected to bring transformational change. The chairman of the commercial arm of the Indian Space Agency said this on November 10. Speaking during an interview at Euroconsult’s World Satellite Business Week Virtual Edition conference, chairman and managing director of Antrix Corp. Rakesh Sasibhushan said the Spacecom Policy draft promises “revolutionary change.”
“The activities will never be the same again,” he said. The changes will allow access to a range of areas. This includes satellite communications capacity. Private launch vehicle companies will also be able to launch from ISRO’s facilities. “The finished ecosystem is accessible.”
The draft Spacecom Policy 2020 was published in mid-October and was open to comments until Nov. 4. The draft act is under consideration. It is expected to be put in place in the next few months. The timing will be down to the legislative process.
Credit: Third Party Reference
INSPACe is a new regulatory and space promotion organization. It was announced in June as part of reforms to increase space sector participation. It will help the interaction between ISRO and the private sector. This will include access to satcom capacity, launch, facilities, and the whole ecosystem. Sasibhushan said INSPACe will be in place in the next few months.
Sasibhushan also mentioned that more policies focused on Earth observation, navigation, launch systems, and other areas are now being developed. These policies will further revolutionize the industry. Antrix itself is also considering how to play a larger role. The organization is particularly thinking about how to align and partner with the industry to boost the space sector.
Foreign direct investment will also be important in the new ecosystem. Considering the lack of space technology players in the Indian private sector, international partnerships are important. They give a fillip to commercial growth. ISRO is also looking at technology transfers,” Sasibhushan says.
Asked about specific sectors, Sasibhushan says he sees big opportunities for Earth observation data. He notes huge requirements for national security. The sectors of mining and land resources are expected to require a lot of services. This clear demand would require dedicated space assets to be put in place. Despite a strong global environment for commercial space activities, Sasibhushan sees potential for an Indian actor to come in and provide services.
India is a big country. There’s a huge demand. A full end-to-end system, which is made and then deployed, will have enough scope for exploiting the market in India. The main challenges in Earth observation include a lack of capacity and high prices. “These are the two areas we need to discuss at once. We are working on an end-to-end basis. We are exploring how we can partner with Indian industries. We aim to put in space assets and give end-to-end services at affordable costs. The market will be very much interested.
India is now beginning to resume activities. This is despite a big slowdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Sasibhushan noted that India and ISRO had been hit hard by the pandemic. Launch activities have only just resumed with the launch of PSLV-C49 over the weekend. The earlier launch was in December 2019. Things are improving. The COVID curve is coming down, and the first flight after the pandemic strike was scheduled this weekend. Hopefully, a full recovery will take place sooner rather than later.
