The Indian Space Research Organisation is on a roll. From launching 104 satellites on a single rocket to aiming to spin off industry led ventures in building satellites and rockets, the momentum of space activities in the country is picking up.

We want to ask you your thoughts and recommendations on what ISRO/Policy makers can do to take space activities to the next level. To start off, here are some recommendations we’ve collected talking to some experts.

1. Establish a yearly independent study on the size of the space economy. Our interactions with institutional investors highlighted that they have no clue in figuring out what is the size of the markets in India in making their investment decisions.

With six decades of experience in exploring space for the benefit of its citizens, India has emerged as a major spacefaring nation with self-reliant capacity to undertake planetary and interplanetary missions. Having built up these capabilities while journeying through the most trying circumstances, India today stands at the crossroad: it can maximise its gains and build on its potential to build complex space missions. Several strategies are open for India’s policymakers, both short-term and long-term, to expand the utilisation of space assets and increase the overall size of the country’s space economy. 

‘Space 2.0 India – Commerce, Policy, Security and Governance Perspectives’ gives insights by providing a glimpse into the past, while it connects with the present and delivers perspectives on the future dimensions of India’s space programme.… Click here to read the complete article

With the increase in demand for space-based services in the country with a projection of 70 operational satellites needed in the country, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is increasing its engagement with the space industry for both the production of satellites and launch vehicles. Industry consortiums are being floated for the production of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (INRSS) satellites. This brings along a unique opportunity for the first time in the Indian industry ecosystem to build up systemic capacity to be able to deliver end-to-end space systems for the first time in the country.… Click here to read the complete article

AstroPolitics has brought out a Special Issue on Indian Space Dynamics of the Indian Space Program: Doctrine, Power, Strategy, Security, Policy, Law, Commercialization, and Technology.

Articles

Space Doctrine of India by Gurbachan Singh Sachdeva

Power Dynamics of India’s Space Program by Ajey Lele

Space, War, and Deterrence: A Strategy for India by S. Chandrashekar

Development of Space Launch Vehicles in India by Rajaram Nagappa

The Challenge of Indian National Space Policy by Kiran Krishnan Nair

Development of National Space Law for India by Kumar Abhijeet

India’s Role in the Legal Regulation of Private Actors in Space by Malay Adhikari

India’s Space Legislation: The Private Sector Speaks by Ashok Gubbi Venkateshmurthy & Narayan Prasad Nagendra

Industry Participation in India’s Space Program: Current Trends and Perspectives for the Future by Narayan Prasad Nagendra

Book Review – From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet: India’s Space Journey, edited by P.… Click here to read the complete article

NewSpace is starting to brew in India. Space startups are doing everything from sending a rover to the Moon to claim the Google Lunar XPrize, building a satellite constellation in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to provide internet from space to rural India, providing crop risk management and for making agriculture predictable and profitable. The question is how is this different from what the government is already doing with the space agency Indian Space Research Organsiation (ISRO)?

The answer is simply trying to do what NewSpace stands for. Building independent B2B, B2C solutions leveraging space/satellites as medium/tools to provide services. Of course, this is an ecosystem that is being supported by the presence of a vendor base, manpower base that has a combined experience of dealing with space for the past five decades.… Click here to read the complete article

The fifth edition of the biennial Bangalore Space Expo, organised by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), its commercial arm Antrix Corporation Limited and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) between 1 – 3 September 2016, saw delegates from 12 countries are attending the event. The event recorded an attendance of over 3200 business visitors besides with France as a partner Country for the first time.

On the opening day, Chairman ISRO said that the country has a constellation of 34 satellites on earth observation, communication, navigation, and other space sciences at the moment. However, he remarked that “this is significantly short, and we need to at least double the number of satellites to give reasonable service to the country.… Click here to read the complete article

India set a trend in exhibiting its space prowess to the international community by kicking off Asia’s only focused exhibition on Space Technologies, Products and Innovations in the form of the Bangalore Space Expo in 2008.

This year, the fifth edition of the Space Expo is scheduled from 1-3 September 2016 at BIEC, Bengaluru, India, will be showcasing the latest technological advancements, related products, and technical services while providing a platform for space agencies, specialists, entrepreneurs and space industry heavyweights to display their visions.

The last edition, Space Expo BSX 2014 – held in Bengaluru, witnessed encouraging participation from the Space Industry from around the globe.… Click here to read the complete article

It may seem strange that when a government cancels a potentially scandalous contract in order to restrict possible losses to the exchequer, it still ends up paying.

And yet, this exactly what is happening with the continuing fallout of the controversial Antrix-Devas deal. As of Tuesday, two international arbitration mechanisms have ruled against the Indian government over the way it cancelled a contract between Antrix Corporation (ISRO’s commercial arm) and telecommunications firm Devas Multimedia.

The first arbitration outcome – which was conducted by the International Chamber of Commerce – resulted in the Indian government receiving a fine of nearly Rs. 4,500 crore ($672 million) for unilaterally terminating the contract with Devas.… Click here to read the complete article

Many of us dream of becoming astronauts who reach out for the stars when we are young despite India not having a human space programme. As we grow up, we start to live up to the expectations of our society and make our ends meet by not chasing such wild dreams rather shaping our talent to contribute to the upcoming opportunities by taking jobs in the government or the private sector or by being academics. There are some who achieve their dreams of working in the space sector and join ISRO as scientists and engineers.

However, there are some who continue on to dream about reaching for the stars much like the way they dreamt in their childhood and take risks in chasing it.… Click here to read the complete article

India doesn’t have a reusable launch vehicle (RLV) yet. What it has is a prototype technology-demonstrator (TD) that Indian Space Research Organisation will use to test its various components, then use their takeaways to build better prototypes. This will go on till about 2030, which is when the organisation expects to have a working vehicle – more than 30 metres long and with an engine of its own. And why does it take so long? Building a reusable launcher is no mean feat, added to which is that ISRO has to make do with its (relatively) tiny budget. The first test, called the hypersonic experiment 1 (HEX1), was conducted on May 23.… Click here to read the complete article