Editorial: New milestone in space journey

Overcoming technology denials in the past, India has made rapid strides in space technology over the last few decades and emerged as one of the leading space-faring nations in the world. It is now set to reach a new milestone with ‘Vikram-S’, the first privately developed rocket, slated for launch from Sriharikota next week. The […]

Overcoming technology denials in the past, India has made rapid strides in space technology over the last few decades and emerged as one of the leading space-faring nations in the world. It is now set to reach a new milestone with ‘Vikram-S’, the first privately developed rocket, slated for launch from Sriharikota next week. The mission is appropriately named ‘Prarambh’ (the beginning), heralding a new era for the space sector. Significantly, the rocket is developed by Hyderabad-based startup Skyroot Aerospace, which has the technical launch clearance from the Space regulator Indian National Space Promotional and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe). This would be the first launch of its kind since the government opened up the space sector for private industry participation in June 2020. Vikram-S is a single-stage sub-orbital launch vehicle which would carry three customer payloads and help test and validate the majority of the technologies in the Vikram series of space launch vehicles. In November 2021, the firm successfully tested a prototype of this engine for 20 seconds. Skyroot’s launch vehicles are named ‘Vikram’ as a tribute to the founder of the Indian Space programme Vikram Sarabhai. The company is also working on a cryogenic engine — Dhawan-I, named after former ISRO chairman Satish Dhawan — which would operate on two high-performance rocket propellants, liquid natural gas and liquid oxygen. Having raised $68 million so far, it is India’s most funded private space startup. Promoting private sector participation in the space sector will disrupt the entry barriers and make satellite launch services more cost-efficient and reliable.

What makes the Vikram mission historic is that space missions in India have only been launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) till now, making ‘Prarambh’ the first-ever space launch by a private company. The mission is aimed at carrying three payloads into space, including a 2.5-kg payload that has been developed by students from several countries. There are obvious comparisons with SpaceX, the Elon Musk-owned American space-tech company that has gone down in history as the first private company to successfully launch and return a spacecraft from Earth orbit. While ISRO is centrally funded with an annual budget of around Rs 15,000 crore, it is necessary for the private sector to play a much bigger role to give a fillip to the space technology market. Private players can bring in the innovation needed for developing space-based applications and services. Additionally, the demand for these services is soaring worldwide and in India. Private players can participate in setting up ground stations for space crafts and also in the application of space technology. After 50 years of experience with space activities and applications and a robust set of indigenous capabilities across the board — startups, SMEs and large companies —, a massive global opportunity beckons the country’s space industry.

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