The explosion of Indian private space companies

India now has 190 space startups, double the number from a year ago, with private investment rising 77% in 2021-2022.

The explosion of Indian private space companies — Vikram-S, a rocket developed by startup Skyroot Aerospace, took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on November 18, 2022, becoming India's first private rocket to successfully launch. Video: *Reuters*

In 2019, when Indian entrepreneur Awais Ahmed founded satellite company Pixxel, the country had not yet opened its space industry to the private sector. But since then, private space companies have been growing in India, AFP reported on October 1. According to Deloitte, there are now 190 space startups in India, double the number a year earlier, with private investment rising 77% between 2021 and 2022.

“Many Indian investors were not willing to look at space technology because earlier it was too risky. But now you can see more and more companies investing in India and more and more companies being established,” Ahmed said.

Pixxel builds hyperspectral imaging satellites—technology that captures a wide spectrum of light to reveal details that ordinary cameras can’t see. The company says it’s on a mission to build a planetary health monitoring system that can track climate risks like floods, wildfires, and methane leaks.

Pixel has hired SpaceX, the US rocket company, to launch its first two satellites. Pixxel has also raised $71 million from investors, allowing it to launch six more satellites next year. The startup has also won a contract with the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to provide hyperspectral imagery.

All of India’s space activities, until they open up in 2020, will be conducted under the supervision of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), according to Isabelle Sourbes-Verger, an expert on Indian space at France’s National Center for Scientific Research. In 2022, ISRO’s budget will remain relatively modest at $1.9 billion, about one-sixth of China’s space program.

Despite limited resources, India’s space program has made great strides, notably with the successful landing of a lander near the unexplored south pole of the moon in August. The country also launched a probe toward the sun in early September and is preparing to launch a spacecraft carrying astronauts into Earth orbit on a three-day mission in 2024.

Before the opening, private companies could only act as suppliers to ISRO. “But that cannot continue because there is too much work to do,” Sourbes-Verger said. India stepped up reforms in April, announcing a new space policy that limits ISRO’s activities to research and development and promotes private sector participation across the entire value chain of the space economy.

India accounts for 2% of the $386 billion global space economy. It hopes to increase its share to 9% by 2030. Meanwhile, the market is expected to grow to $1 trillion by 2040.

Indian companies have a cost advantage because the country has a large pool of highly skilled engineers who command lower salaries than foreign companies. Other Indian startups that have emerged in recent years include Skyroot Aerospace, the first Indian company to launch a private rocket, Dhruva Space, a company that develops small satellites, and Bellatrix Aerospace, a company that specializes in satellite propulsion systems.

Thu Thao (According to AFP )

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