India is making a push in the increasingly lucrative space economy. India Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and its commercial arm NewSpace India Ltd. have been launching a number of communication satellites for customers such as OneWeb Ltd. The successful mission of the launch of 36 satellites for OneWeb in March 2021 had shown India’s ambition to become a top player in the space industry.
By 2025, the space economy is projected to grow to $600 billion from $447 billion in 2020. SpaceX, Arianespace, Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc. and other major space providers have been giving customers options when choosing a satellite company, however, Unfortunately, geopolitical tensions with China, Russia and the US have made working with them almost impossible to do.
India’s sweet spot is its close relations with the US and other regional powers, and its cheaper launch services compared to other competitors. The country’s government is also striving to make it a top destination for technological innovation with its ‘Make in India’ campaign. Other positives include India being considered less politically risky than China, which has caused concern about possible access to Western technology. NewSpace has been capitalizing on this and providing its services to 52 international customers last year.
With its LVM3 rocket, NewSpace has now also managed to perform more successful satellite launches. India still has some way to go before it can surpass China in the space industry. Its reliability rates, for instance, have lagged behind other major players, but the country is still making great strides. This is demonstrated by the much cheaper launch of its Mars orbiter in 2013 compared to NASA’s mission that same year.
The article also mentioned person and a company – NewSpace India Ltd. and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. NewSpace India Ltd. is a commercial arm of the India Space Research Organisation, a government-owned entity responsible for the development of India’s space technology. Since 2019, NewSpace has been providing an effective and reliable launch services to many international customers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the leader of India, and he recently launched his ‘Make in India’ campaign, which aims to boost the nation’s space industry. This initiative is expected to bring major growth to the sector.
