Sidus Space Inc. a Space-as-a-Service company recently signed an agreement with Exolaunch to use their CarboNIX separation system to deploy LizzieSat satellites during the LizzieSat rideshare missions with SpaceX in 2023 and 2024. This agreement includes comprehensive technical support that ensures safe, reliable LizzieSat microsatellite deployment.
Sidus had already signed a multi-launch agreement with SpaceX for five LizzieSat rideshare missions beginning in 2023. Exolaunch’s CarboNIX will deploy each LizzieSat seamlessly and evenly via its patented synchronous spring pusher system. CarboNIX also ensures an average tumbling rate of under 1° per second post-release on all three axes, making it the lowest-shock and lowest-tumbling separation system yet deployed in space. CarboNIX has so far flown on 10 missions and deployed 40 satellites with a 100% success rate.
John Curry, Sidus Chief Mission Operations Officer, says “Sidus’s highest priority is getting LizzieSat and our customers into space safely and reliably. This Exolaunch multi-mission agreement to deploy LizzieSat from the launch vehicle provides Sidus customers high confidence their hosted payloads will arrive safely in orbit”.
Kier Fortier, Managing Director, Exolaunch USA, says “The Space-as-a-Service offering via the LizzieSat platform is extremely valuable for organizations seeking to deploy their technologies and products in orbit”.
RTX Ventures, the Venture Capital Arm of Raytheon Technologies invests a small amount of money in EpiSci in line with the vision of Raytheon’s longstanding leadership in developing autonomous technologies.
RTX Ventures guides EpiSci in an investment agreement as it works to advance and scale its core Tactical AI technology. This demonstrates the on-field advantages of adopting a model-based autonomy architecture.
The companies plan to collaborate in enabling the development of state-of-the-art tactical autonomy solutions across land, sea, air, and space applications.
Daniel Ateya, managing director of RTX Ventures, stated of the deal: “As an early investor we plan to support EpiSci’s endeavors in creating a trust-based, collaborative environment between humans and AI-enabled machines.”
Francisco-Javier Benedicto Ruiz, Director of Navigation (D/NAV), European Space Agency (ESA)
ESA is working on alternate PNT by deploying PNT in new frequency bands. We have plans ranging from VHF to Ka-band, which is essential to overcome interference on the ground, says Francisco-Javier Benedicto Ruiz, Director of Navigation (D/NAV), European Space Agency (ESA).
It is commonly said the world economy runs on GPS or GNSS positioning systems. What is the actual value of resilient PNT in global economics?
Satellite navigation is one of the most successful daily-use space applications. It has entered all fields of society and the economy and supports national policies. It has become a strategic asset for governments and, therefore, has a very critical nature – it has to work constantly, with high precision, reliability, and availability.
Resilience is all about providing the necessary robustness in our systems to sustain unplanned events such as cyber-attacks. We need to be resilient about space weather affecting satellite health and against any interference and jamming, both intentional and non-intentional. All of this requires using specific technologies and certain architectures, which we have implemented in our systems and will continue developing in the future.
Can you share some of the initiatives you will take in the coming years?
We have two main satellite navigation flagship programs in Europe: EGNOS and Galileo. EGNOS was conceived as an augmentation of GPS for safety-of-life uses like aviation for example, while other independent navigation systems like Galileo, BeiDou, and GLONASS have complemented GPS.
Therefore, adding to the resilience of the GNSS community worldwide, we are modifying the EGNOS system to augment Galileo and not only GPS. We call it the third generation of EGNOS, which ensures that civil aviation can make reliable use of EGNOS without relying on either GPS or Galileo. It can depend on both systems at the same time.
Europe is in the first generation of Galileo, which is fully operational and available to users. We are providing authentication, which tells the user that the signal they are receiving is the actual signal and avoids spoofing from external sources.
We are also developing the second generation of Galileo for the EU Space Program, which will be a more robust system, more powerful with the diversification of signals, and in line with resilience.
Following a positive endorsement by ESA Member States at the Ministerial Conference in November 2022, we will start the in-orbit demonstration of the use of a new satellite navigation technology from low Earth orbit for the benefit of the user in terms of improving the accuracy and the availability of positioning.
Are you considering alternatives going to non-satellite-based position systems?
We have many projects in our Navigation Innovation and Support Programme (NAVISP) integrating satellite navigation with non-satellite PNT systems based on inertial sensors.
Augmented reality can be merged with inertial sensors, satellite navigation, and terrestrial communication to provide the necessary resilience under challenging environments like indoors and going through tunnels and urban environments.
Geopolitics is impacting space. GNSS jamming and spoofing came to light after Russia attacked Ukraine. What is your take on this, and how are you going to address this in the future?
This war has revealed some realities. The world of international geopolitics is evolving, so from a European perspective, it is essential to ask the question, what is the balance between global cooperation and European autonomy is.
We have to find the right balance. The answer is not one against the other. But to foster international cooperation; we do it all the time. Despite the difficulties, we continue with our efforts to explain the significance of international cooperation.
This has to be applied at a global scale with multiple stakeholders. All space powers have to cooperate because there is only one Earth, and we must share it and pay attention not to do things that are damaging each other.
We are concerned about the proliferation of mega-constellations, for instance, damaging the astronomy community’s interest and creating an unnecessary amount of space debris, which makes more and more alerts of collision every day.
We cannot decide ourselves autonomously in Europe; we have to be interoperable and coordinated. Therefore, international cooperation is essential.
When cooperation fails, like when you are facing a war, you have to look at your dependencies, and this is where you need to have backup solutions which rely on your means. This is why independence and autonomy are also very important.
After Brexit, how is the collaboration with the UK, as they are also developing their space capabilities?
We have a very longstanding and strong cooperation with the United Kingdom, which is one of the strong supporters of the ESA and will continue to be. The UK is a space power with a lot of competence and talent; it has a strong industry alongside a robust scientific network.
The UK pays attention to space applications, and we cooperate well with them. ESA has a permanent site in the UK (ECSAT) that promotes the use of space in collaboration with industries and universities.
Despite Brexit, there will likely be strong collaboration. We have bilateral agreements with Norway and Switzerland, which are not members of the European Union. In the future, we hope that the UK will develop a bilateral agreement with the European Union to continue its collaboration on space programs.
Many technological developments are happening in the new space, and many startups are coming up with new innovative solutions, leading to the industry landscape’s evolution. How do you view it?
New space is a buzzword; there is no old or new space. There is a new way of doing things, which has to do mainly with technology.
We have a plethora of industries, like the automotive sector, which is an inspiration for us, or aeronautics in general. And we are looking very carefully at their way of doing things, their approaches, methodologies, standards, the use of components, qualification methods, etc.
We are trying to import as much as possible, but the way of producing is different. The production capabilities have to be modernized by using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and different ways of putting mass production, and so on.
Commercialization of space is also an important aspect. Space is no longer a pure institutional market. It is now close to citizens and society at large. Therefore, space can attract private funding.
We are seeing more private-public partnerships which are being put together. We are developing ESA towards this, and satellite navigation will not be an exception.
It’s that time of the year when we buy each other gifts. I’m not sure about you, but I am usually disappointed with my present haul, not a single map or geospatial-related item among any of them… so I usually buy myself a present or two in the January sale!
What I may do this year is to leave this webpage open and keep my fingers crossed! We have a list of some of the great cartography, geospatial and mappy gifts I’ve found on the internet.
When you are due to meet with the project team and want to remind people that you are in charge of maps, what could be better than wearing a tie with a world map on it?
Are you the hipster of mapping? Would you make maps with a pipe in your mouth while you tease your handlebar mustache? Then this is the T-shirt for you; let the world know how geo-cool you are!
A great item to wear at any geo-based conference or in the office to remind people that you are the map goddess. Pretty well projected in transverse Mercator.
A silver bracelet with a blue and silver globe in the center is the ideal gift for any mapper. Ideal for waving in the face of project managers who ask for the word legend at the top of a map legend.
Select any area, for example, your workplace, where you got married, or simply their favorite pub, and The Cufflink Store will put a map of the area on some cufflinks for your mappy person to show with pride on their shirt.
How do you ensure everyone in the meeting knows that maps are your life? Walk in with this London tube map notepad! A5-sized and enough room on the spine for a mechanical pencil.
It has been proven that coloring helps to reduce stress. Also, a joke amongst cartographers is that it is just “coloring-in,”…so what better than a book of UK maps that needs coloring made by the UK National Mapping agency!
This is a thing of beauty, a custom wood and epoxy map of an area of your choosing. Seeing how beautiful it looks simulating water, I would choose a coastal area and invest in some lights. Any mappy person would love to receive this.
Personal confession, I already have one of these, used as a tablecloth, a blanket, and even in the car. Well printed and also functional (if you live in the UK).
Quantum-Systems and SKYLAB announced a partnership to help forestry customers maximize productivity and reduce costs.
With deep learning and advanced aerial data analytics, SKYLAB provides fully-digitalized forest management, from seedling survival and weed monitoring to full timber and carbon stock inventories, as well as monitoring forest health and harvesting operations for 100% of the areas.
SKYLAB enables its customers to receive precise information on their forestry assets, with 24/7 access to the results online. Paired with aerial data generated by the Trinity F90+ UAV, customers will be able to maximize productivity and optimize management processes.
Designed and manufactured in Germany, Trinity F90+, the fixed-wing eVTOL from Quantum-Systems flies as efficiently as a fixed-wing aeroplane, allows for easy vertical take-off and landing, like a multi-rotor drone, and comes with the broadest choice of integrated sensors in the industry.
Trinity F90+ offers a wide range of easily interchangeable camera solutions, which includes the MicaSense Altum-PT, MicaSense RedEdge-P, Qube 240 LiDAR, Sony UMC- R10C, Sony RX1 RII and the Oblique D2M cameras.
Additionally, the Trinity F90+ drone can fly for up to 90 minutes – well beyond the industry standard of 60 minutes – allowing forestry professionals to move from sampling and extrapolating 1% of the forest to knowing 100% of the forest.
Combining the state-of-the-art hardware from Quantum-Systems and the sophisticated forestry and plantation management software from SKYLAB, customers have access to a complete solution that maximizes the usage of aerial data generated by the Trinity F90+ UAV.
Using SKYLABcloud for easy data upload, seamless processing, analyzing and mapping, with no prior GIS knowledge needed, customers can generate precise and detailed maps of the state of their forest, to be integrated into their own management systems.
Using the highly accurate SKYLAB maps, foresters reduce their operating costs and maximize productivity by identifying areas of low seeding survival, targeting seeding refill, minimizing chemical and mechanical input, monitoring disease and problem areas, and optimizing harvesting operations, which all results in significant higher profitability.
Iris Automation has been granted its third waiver for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) autonomous operations on behalf of the City of Reno Fire Department, a participant in the FAA’s BEYOND program.
In conjunction with previous waivers issued to Iris Automation, this offers a broader range of options for future UAS river rescue missions with both onboard and ground-based DAA solutions.
Iris Automation is using the concept on behalf of the City of Reno’s Fire Department for search and rescue operations in the test environment near the Carson River area.
Casia G uses Iris Automation’s patented detect and alert technology to create a stationary perimeter of sanitized, monitored airspace, enabling Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to perform work safely.
It provides situational awareness of piloted aircraft to the Remote Pilot in Command (RPIC) to enable the manoeuvring of UAVs to safe zones. This allows the operator to fly greater distances without the need for visual observers or the RPIC to maintain visual contact with the drone.
This third BVLOS waiver approves operations without visual observers over a limited operational area based on a ‘network’ of two separate Casia G nodes.
Each additional node can be used to cover more area for UAS operations. Ultimately, this could potentially enable a ‘grid’ of Casia G systems to provide airspace awareness of non-cooperative aircraft (aircraft which is not broadcasting ADSB-Out messages) over very large areas.
This awareness gives UAS pilots more time to assess other aircraft flight trajectories and execute minimally disruptive avoidance manoeuvres.
City of Reno Fire Chief Dave Cochran, “During a river rescue operation, water exposure is dangerous for victims and first responders. We believe that the use of drones during river rescue operations could reduce response times and save lives. The waiver that Iris Automation has been granted puts our program one step closer to being able to utilize drones during rescue operations within the City of Reno.”
“Casia G does not require installation onto the aircraft, preserving payload for sensors or packages and a greater choice of aircraft. Its ground-based placement will give organizations greater flexibility to establish permanent, sanitized air space or to change locations quickly by simply relocating Casia G nodes,” he added.
Jon Damush, CEO at Iris Automation said, “Collaborating with the City of Reno and the FAA under the BEYOND program is key to advancing the integration of UAS into the National Airspace safely. This latest waiver is another step toward maintaining safety while enabling economical access to airspace with minimal technical integration required.”
“An advantage of the Casia G approach is that as the network of ground units expands, additional users can benefit from the deployed systems simply by subscribing to the data stream produced. This has the potential to enable law enforcement, EMS, and industry to expand drone use for public benefit and infrastructure inspections,” he added.
CNH Industrial revealed the New HollandT4 Electric Power – the industry’s first all-electric light utility tractor prototype with autonomous features – at its Tech Day in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
A concentrated effort between the CNH’s team of experts in the USA (Burr Ridge, Detroit) and Italy (Modena) was able to halve this prototype’s development time thanks to collaboration with their strategic partner Monarch Tractor– an electrified Ag innovator based in California, USA.
The prototype presented is branded New Holland Agriculture, while the commercial model will also extend to their Case IH Brand. It follows the launch of the multi award-winning e-Source power pack – an external generator for electric farm implements.
“The T4 Electric Power is the ideal solution for lower horsepower operations. It is suited to mixed farm, livestock, municipality, orchard and specialty applications. We know our customers are eager to adopt this type of product, so it makesperfect sense for us to continue our Ag electrification journey with this platform,” explains Marc Kermisch, Chief Digital & Information Officer, CNH Industrial.
Depending on the mission profile, the tractor’s battery pack delivers up to a full day of operation. It takes just one hour to reach 100% power when using commercially available fast charging systems.
The tractor’s electrical outlets support daily farm tasks such as welding and drilling. It doubles as a backup power generator for daily or emergency needs. And it provides energy for electric implements. Traditional mechanical, hydraulic and Power Take Off implements can also be used.
The UAE Space Agency has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Philippine Space Agency (PhiSA) to enhance cooperation in scientific research, space exploration and knowledge exchange to serve common interests and promote international partnerships supporting science and knowledge exchange in the outer space industry, according to the Emirates News Agency.
This partnership is part of the UAE Space Agency’s goals to strengthen cooperation with international partners in space science and the peaceful exploration of outer space.
The parties signed the MoU on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Space Debate by Salem Butti Salem Al Qubaisi, Director General of the Space Agency, and Joel Joseph S. Marciano Jr., Director General of the Philippine Space Agency, in the presence of several representatives from both sides.
The MoU intends to accelerate the development of space technologies and sciences in the UAE and contribute to providing research and explorations that serve humanity.
Furthermore, it aims to strengthen and develop areas of cooperation between the two agencies, per the relevant laws and regulations and the national policies in both countries, based on the principle of mutual benefits.
As a result of the agreement, both agencies will strengthen bilateral cooperation in priority space fields, including exploration, scientific and technological research, aerospace, education, and others.
Furthermore, it allows the two parties to conduct joint research and development in space, to serve common interests and accelerate the growth of the space sector, related sciences, technologies and applications.
The MoU also enables the exchange of spatial data to support shared interests, such as climate change, disaster management, emergency response, food security and agriculture. This will strengthen the two agencies’ contribution to the environmental sustainability process.
The agencies will also participate in scientific missions aimed at space exploration and access to relevant data and hold joint conferences, workshops and knowledge-sharing activities on space science and technology applications.
The UAE Space Agency and the Philippine Space Agency will collaborate to support space education through student and graduate exchange programs.
The United Arab Emirates Space Agency and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have signed a Statement of Strategic Intent and Cooperation to support creating a vibrant, sustainable, competitive, and innovative space sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
As a result, AWS will collaborate with the Space Agency and related UAE Government space organizations on the following three initiatives to support the Space Agency’s long-term development goals:
The Emirati – AWS Space Industry Development Program (EASID)
This initiative focuses on growing existing commercial space organizations and promoting an environment conducive to new entrants like space startups. This initiative will provide them access to AWS Activate and the AWS Founders program, which will provide startups with AWS credit, technical training, and business support.
In addition, this initiative will provide UAE commercial companies, startups, universities, and civil and Government entities access to AWS experts to help develop new products, services, or activities in the relevant areas of satellite technology, space infrastructure development, and safety and security.
The Emirati – AWS Talent for Space Program (EATS)
This initiative includes outreach and training to support talent development for the space industry in the UAE, particularly in cloud computing and big data. Specifically, AWS will offer related research institutions with the ready-to-teach Cloud Career Pathways curriculum; professional AWS training through She Builds CloudU, a flexible, community-based learning program for women; and access to additional training and mentoring programs and workshops.
The Emirati – AWS Open Data Sponsorship Program
This initiative will encourage collaboration among the UAE space and research community by sharing data sets on AWS related to space data-driven initiatives such as space surveillance and space situational awareness programs.
Speaking of the agreement, H.E. Ibrahim Al Qasim, Deputy Director General of the UAE Space Agency, said, “this agreement with Amazon Web Services comes as a part of our objectives and goals in providing our national talents, startups and SMEs with the best skills and learning programs, in addition to enabling companies working in this sector with the best applications and facilities.”
This Statement of Strategic Intent is the latest step in AWS’s long-term investment in the Middle East and the latest in a series of similar agreements with space agencies and governments around the globe designed to support long-term aerospace industry and workforce development goals.
In hindsight, India’s New Space economy has made significant progress over the past few years, but to harness its true potential there’s a need for a calibrated approach for removing regulatory bottlenecks, enhancing transparency, and enabling access to funds and new markets.
“As we can see most of the NewSpace India participants are testing the waters. They have been learning by doing. Now the time has come for a more structured approach that enables better incubation. Fortunately, Antrix is open to such ideas. Various policies and acts need to change from being restrictive to being enabling.” ~ Geospatial World, March-April 2018 ~
In 2018, a survey of the emerging entrepreneurs in the nascent private space industry, NewSpace India showed that there was huge enthusiasm for space opportunities, both upstream and downstream. While heavy industries such as Godrej, L&T, Walchand, HAL were already supplying a majority of the requirements of launchers and satellites to ISRO, many other MSMEs were also working on the downstream technology and applications. Almost all of them are interested in carving out a fresh identity as space industries in their own right. Four years back it seemed rather ambitious in this regard.
That time there was no Space Policy except a draft document which was much discussed, and not seen as an enabler of such independent efforts like NewSpace India. Space Communications Policy, Space Remote Sensing Policy and a whole raft of 14 other policies and acts that governed geospatial activities in India were not seen as enterprise-friendly.
New Beginnings
Things began to change from 2021 onwards. A new Geospatial Guidelines was issued in February which superseded all other policies related to geospatial data acquisition and mapping. A National Geospatial Data Policy – and hopefully an Act – is under approval by the Cabinet.
In February 2022, a draft Space Policy was circulated for comments and awaits Cabinet approval. This will supersede all other Space-related policies and will be followed by a Space Act to be passed by the Parliament. The result of these efforts is expected to make for a better-enabled playing field for private entrepreneurs.
In September, the government notified the creation of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) as an autonomous agency in the Department of Space (DOS) for enabling space activities, as well as, the usage of Department of Space-owned facilities by Non-Governmental Private Entities.
Skyroot Aerospace launched India’s first privately made rocket, Vikram-S
Current Scenario
From barely four industries in 2018, the number of enterprises in the startup space has exceeded 250 this year. Though the ecosystem started late, it is growing fast. The participants are bullish but the ecosystem continues to appear as an extended arm of the government’s space programme and has a low impact. There is a need for a nurturing ecosystem and evangelisation to enable it to mature. It is estimated that with this approach, it may take another five years to independently evolve.
There is a need for a nurturing ecosystem and evangelisation to enable it to mature. It is estimated that with this approach, it may take another five years to independently evolve
As of now, many Indian space companies are in the news. Skyroot has launched its Prarambh Mission, an experimental launcher Vikram-S from SHAR utilising the ISRO launch facilities through IN-SPACe at a ‘nominal cost’. Agnikul is not far behind. It proposes to conduct its first launch in late 2022. It is the recipient of the ISRO-built Flight Termination System which provides for Mission safety in the event of a malfunction. Bellatrix has opened a new factory near Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore. Their US$ 76 million factory will be ready by 2023. Their products are a range of thrusters and they are aiming for manufacturing Orbital Transfer Vehicles popularly known as Space Taxi.
Satsure, a company working on the use of space imagery in a variety of applications has acquired KaleidEO, a company developing high resolution optical payloads with edge computing based on Satsure’s AI/ML package. Other companies acquired by Satsure are GeoSpoc and CropTrails for agriculture-related applications. Another company Pixxel Space is on track to launch a constellation of satellites with 5m resolution hyperspectral sensors. The first, Shakuntala was launched on SpaceX Transporter 4 mission in April 2022, and the next one, Anand was launched on PSLV C-54 on November 26.
These are exciting developments. Start-ups in the Space sector are beginning to realize their dreams, and with that comes sobering thoughts about continuity and sustainability. There are several issues that need attention – capital, human resources, policy, support from ISRO and the market.
In a report on “Why do Indian Founders in the Space Industry start their start-ups abroad?” produced by Spaceport Sarabhai, a think tank addressing space-related matters, some of the problems that are faced by entrepreneurs have been studied in depth and the summary of their results are reproduced in Table 1.
Reproduced with permission of the Editors Susmita Mohanty, Narayan Prasad from: Report 01.2022 “Why do Indian Founders in the Space Industry start their start-ups abroad?”, R Sai Shiva Jayanth, Gopalakrishnan Narayanamurthy, Summer 2022, Publisher: Spaceport Sarabhai,
Access to Capital
While the nascent Indian space industry has not exactly set the financial world on fire, a modestly steady beginning has been made. A quick look at the five companies in the news shows a total valuation of about US$ 360 million in 2021. Major funding is for the industries related to the upstream activities while the downstream companies pull in lower amounts. The number of companies involved in upstream activities is slightly more than the ones involved in downstream activities. This is a matter of concern as will be discussed later.
ISRO working on fourth-stage rockets that stay ‘alive’ for experiments months after launch
In comparison, the total space economy in India is about US$ 9.6 billion. Even at this level India’s share of the world space economy is barely 2.6 percent and contributes 0.5 percent of the GDP. The Indian Space Association, ISpA avers that “with the rapidly growing space ecosystem, India is prepared to grow to $13-billion by 2025 at a compound annual growth at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6%”. The keyword is ‘prepared’.
It remains to be seen whether the capital flows both to ISRO-DOS and to the industry will match these projections. Can there be a major up-funding from the Government to ISRO-DOS? More importantly, are Indian investors with deep pockets willing to take the risk of investing in Space activities? As of now, Indian angel investors have contributed in units of millions where foreign investments are in the tens of millions.
Start-ups in the Space sector are beginning to realize their dreams, and with that comes sobering thoughts about continuity and sustainability. There are several issues that need attention – capital, human resources, policy, support from ISRO and market
Boosting Investor Confidence
Today most Indian investors are in the game for fear of missing out on Space, but at the same time, they restrict themselves to the pre-seed and seed funding stages. One reason for not going on to larger funding is that many startups lack a good business plan.
As it stands, Indian investors are risk averse and prefer safe investments like 5G rather than long-term, high-risk investments in space technology. In this situation, the bubble of space industry euphoria may burst at anytime.
The Indian investor market lacks independent think tanks that can study the upstream and downstream in Space markets and give investors an independent assessment of the prospects of a company entering the Space industry.
Without independent assessments, Indian investors have to depend on studying business plans of prospective industries. If they come across a good business plan, they are willing to invest and wait for five to seven years before getting any returns.
In the case of foreign investments, an additional issue is FDI on which the Ministry of Home Affairs is moving fast but ISRO is dragging its feet. If this is sorted out then foreign fund inflows will pick up beyond the tens of millions level.
Downstream industries do not need very high levels of capital and are therefore preferred by Indian investors. The returns come in faster which is an attraction. Further, ISRO has been pushing downstream industries in preference to upstream ones. The success of Skyroot may provide the nudge needed to make upstream industries more attractive to investors.
Greater attention to these issues is needed to be able to realise the 2025 goal.
Human Resource Constraints
As of 2021, these companies employed about 400 people. An industry head working in downstream activities is very appreciative of Indian engineering graduates. They are willing to take risks but at the same time they come from a poor educational culture which does not teach them to question. They lack communication skills and business thinking which is a big drawback when it comes to making presentations to potential investors and clients.
ISRO’s LVM3-M2 on its way to carry 36 OneWeb satellites in the LEO
Another industry head working in the upstream area concurs. The need is for marketing persons with a technical background but such MBA graduates tend to be risk averse and prefer to work with known business houses at market salary levels. A few may get disillusioned with routine projects and prefer challenging jobs and may gravitate to Startups working on cutting-edge technologies and products.
Freshers from select top institutions are preferred as they pick up quickly but freshers from Tier 2 and 3 institutions need to be trained before they get into the mainstream. Skilled people are hard to get. While retired ISRO personnel are a huge support there is a need for scouting out other skilled persons, typically mid-level engineers in big enterprises who are seeking a change from corporate culture.
Another issue is pay disparity. Computer and Communications engineers seek market salaries which tend to be high. As a result, nearly 60 to 70 percent of the budget has to be reserved for salaries which impact the creation of facilities and purchase of raw materials needed for upstream activities. Startups also face poaching by bigger companies. It takes two to three years to get a fresh engineer up to speed. At this point, they are offered higher salaries – maybe upto two to three times – which result in an unnecessary turnover which leads to delays.
Educational institutions need to address some of these fundamental problems. The existing pedagogy has to be changed. According to an industry expert young engineers with a stint of education abroad are much better equipped to handle technical and business challenges because they have learnt to question and study with an open mind as opposed to the Indian method of rote learning. Hopefully, the NEP might have answered some of these issues.
ISRO’s heaviest rocket, GSLV Mk III
Policy Issues
The delay in the passing of the Space Policy is becoming a big drag. While the geospatial guidelines are a very good step but issues remain. How does one meter map resolution translate to sensor resolution, particularly where the sensors are not optical but microwave? The draft Space Policy has the answers but unless they see the light of day industry will have to go by the existing individual policies which are nearly 18 in number and are at least a decade old.
FDI of 70 percent will be needed, particularly by companies working on upstream activities. ISRO is a global brand and any company with support from ISRO can hope to rise funds but a more lasting arrangement is through trade policies. Most countries prefer to see the funding go to local industries but when there is a trade policy between countries this limitation can be overcome. Australia and Canada have such policies which give their industries access to global investments and markets.
The incubation of nascent industries is lacking in India. The Atal Incubation Centres are a step in the right direction and the raising of grants to Rs 80 lac will encourage many potential entrepreneurs to take the plunge.
While the nascent Indian space industry has not exactly set the financial world on fire, a modestly steady beginning has been made. A quick look at the five companies in the news shows a total valuation of about US$ 360 million in 2021
ISRO Support
The current administration of ISRO and the creation of IN-SPACe has resulted in a change in ISRO’s approach to startups. ISRO is opening up and trying to do something different. But there are hiccups.
For example, the launch of Vikram-S by Skyroot was from an ISRO facility and used ISRO staff support on payment which was nominal as per Skyroot. One of the roles of NSIL is to provide commercial access to ISRO facilities, but this route was not used. It appears that NSIL faces a conflict of interest as it is also the owner of the SSLV being developed by ISRO. Launchers like Skyroot’s Vikram and Agnikul’s Agnibaan are competitors to SSLV.
Engaging Clients
Access to clients is different for upstream and downstream industries. Downstream clients are many in India and abroad. As per an industry expert, India presents a very good market because clients are open to adopting new processes.
The Indian policy stresses the use of satellite EO data for many application areas in agriculture like claims settlement and loan assessment. Banks and RBI have begun to use satellite EO-based systems to speed up their processes. The expert felt that it was easier to work with Indian clients rather than foreign clients. In his opinion countries in Europe do face a degree of decision paralysis when it comes to satellite-based EO.
Upstream industries find India to be a limited market therefore the need is to be able to access foreign markets. This is an uphill task. The solutions are manifold.
The industry has to open subsidiaries in countries of interest. Starting Joint Ventures with foreign companies is another option. As mentioned earlier, Free Trade Agreements with different countries are a third possibility.
Conclusions
From 2018 to 2022, the number of startups jumped by a factor of 60, indicating that entrepreneurs do find space as an important sunshine area where they are willing to take the risks. As of 2021, there were twelve startups in space manufacturing (launchers and satellites), ten in space applications and five in other activities, which gives a ratio of 12:5:10.
It is a matter of concern that the measure of the Indian space economy is in the ratio of 9:21:70 for space manufacturing, space operations and space applications (India’s Space Economy, 2011-12 to 2020-21: Its Size and Structure by Sunil Mani, V.K. Dadhwal, C.S. Shaijumon, Space Policy, Elsevier, in press).
Further, the bulk of the applications is related to communications, the internet, and broadcasting which tends to distort the overall numbers of the space economy both in India and globally.
Both IN-SPACe and entrepreneurs need to understand this and prepare their business plans accordingly. Perhaps the fact that ISRO is encouraging downstream activities may reflect this situation. Many small satellite launchers are failing globally and it is necessary to consider the economy of small satellite launchers in the light of reusable heavy launchers which can carry multiple small satellites.
NewSpace India has been growing since 2007. 2022 represents a milestone year in terms of policy and structural changes. The future is bright but there is a need to proceed with caution because, to quote Prof U R Rao, the third Chairman of ISRO, “Space is not for the chicken hearted”.
Amazon.com: 
