In the year of Gaganyaan, private space sector too set to make a big splash

In the year that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) undertakes crucial flights for the Gaganyaan mission and plans key launches like the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), the country’s private space sector is also set to make a huge splash, which includes creating a pioneering hyperspectral satellite constellation. Hyperspectral satellites take extremely detailed images to help identify objects or materials by capturing data in several wavelengths for each pixel.

Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace launched its suborbital rocket, Vikram-S, in November 2022. (X/@SkyrootA)

“There are several things that show that we are moving in the right direction (towards the goal of capturing 8 per cent of the global market by 2033). There are over 200 start-ups in the sector now as compared to just around 40 or 50 three years ago. There has also been an expansion in the infrastructure set up by the private companies such as Anant, Dhruva, Skyroot, Pixxel, and Bellatrix. Companies such as L&T and Godrej, which were contractors for ISRO, are also looking to enter the space sector on their own,” Dr Pawan Goenka, the chairperson of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Center (IN-SPACe), told The Indian Express.

IN-SPACe is an autonomous body under the Department of Space that has been entrusted with supervising, authorising, enabling, and promoting the sector. Stating that there was “serious” interest in Indian companies by international firms, he said foreign companies like OneWeb and Starlink have already applied to provide broadband services in India.

What are the private players cooking?

While ISRO readies its most powerful launch vehicle, LVM3, for human missions — and works towards developing heavier ones to set up a space station and take humans to the moon — private players like Skyroot Aerospace and AgniKul Cosmos are working towards qualifying their small satellite launch vehicles. The scope for growth in this sector is immense, say key players.

Humbled to have had the opportunity to bring our Agnibaan SOrTeD vehicle to our Launchpad at SDSC-SHAR on Independence Day to commence integration checks. We thank @isro and @INSPACeIND for their continuous encouragement and support in getting us this far. (1/n) pic.twitter.com/LvcTgxP5XT

— AgniKul Cosmos (@AgnikulCosmos) August 17, 2023

“More than 80 per cent of the launches over the next 10 years will be of small satellites that are less than 500 kg. Globally, however, there are only two companies — Rocket Lab and Firefly Aerospace — that offer launches in this category. So there is a lot of demand in the market,” said Pawan Chandana, the co-founder and CEO of Skyroot.

Plans for Space start-ups this year

Talking about the next step for Skyroot, he said, “There has been excitement in the market since our suborbital flight. We plan to launch Vikram-I (Skyroot’s first orbital flight) in mid-2024 (from Sriharikota). We will reveal the payloads closer to the launch date, but there is already a pipeline of customers who need launch services such as this to reach the orbit easily.”

One year ago, at this time, the supercharged Skyroot team was at Sriharikota, gearing up for the final tests, before India’s inaugural private rocket, the Vikram-S moved to it’s launchpad. Pictures may not truly capture the emotional intensity, but here’s a glimpse.… pic.twitter.com/MueY2BweH5

— Skyroot Aerospace (@SkyrootA) November 15, 2023

In suborbital flights, the vehicle travels slower than the orbital velocity, which means that it is fast enough to reach outer space but not fast enough to stay in an orbit around the Earth. Skyroot’s rocket had reached a height of 89.5 km during the 2022 launch, carrying three non-deployable payloads that collected data during the flight. For the sake of comparison, most commercial airlines fly at a height of around 10 km from the ground.

Lieutenant General A K Bhatt (retired), the director general of Indian Space Association (ISpA), the apex industry body for the Indian space industry, said Agnikul’s suborbital launch will mark another important milestone.

“Unlike other rockets, Agnikul’s rocket has been completely 3D-printed,” he said, listing another significant milestone — the launch of the first commercially manufactured Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which is ISRO’s workhorse launch vehicle.

“After years of deliberations, the technology was transferred to the industry. L&T and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) are manufacturing a PSLV that is likely to be launched this year. ISRO will then focus on developing newer technologies, like the Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV),” said Lt Gen Bhatt.

‘Fireflies’ in space

Other than commercial launches, 2024 will also see a key satellite mission by Pixxel. The mission, a first for the company, will see the launch of six commercial satellites to create the world’s first hyperspectral constellation.

This constellation of six satellites, called Fireflies, is expected to be launched in two batches around June. “The launch will either be carried out by ISRO’s PSLV or SpaceX’s Falcon 9,” said Awais Ahmed, the founder and CEO of Pixxel.

The company has already launched three demo satellites to validate technical aspects, image quality and even commercialisation of data. “We got data from the demo satellites. We were actually able to sell that data and show it to more customers. However, those satellites had limited capability,” he said.

Happy 77th Independence Day from Team Skyroot. The Tiranga graces our factory and our hearts with pride #HarGharTiranga #HarDilTiranga 🇮🇳 #HappyIndependenceDay @SkyrootA https://t.co/IL6bNFoPm7 pic.twitter.com/j0YiQL7cJO

— Pawan (@PawanKChandana) August 15, 2023

Commercial-grade satellites boast of hyperspectral images with much higher resolution, besides having 1,000-times higher capability to beam down these images. Unlike demo satellites that last just two or three years, commercial-grade satellites last for at least seven years.

Pixxel has also planned to create a constellation of 18 to 24 satellites, depending on customer needs, to provide global coverage every 24 hours. Given the huge market for hyperspectral imaging data, he said Pixxel is already working with over 100 countries.

Ahmed explained, “Hyperspectral imaging data has huge potential in sectors like agri-business, oil, gas, and mining. Take agriculture, for example. Imaging satellites will tell you about the crop’s current health, whereas a hyperspectral satellite will tell you which nutrient is missing from the soil. It will also be able to distinguish between species and subspecies of crop, and whether you are growing corn or rice. If it is rice, the name of the variety. All that information can be used for better yield predictions.”

He said hyperspectral imaging has implications for the oil and gas sector too. “Hyperspectral imaging can be used to detect invisible leaks, such as methane, or underground leaks that one cannot see. In the mining sector, it can be used to map different minerals in an area. A decade ago, the US had done an airplane-based hyperspectral mapping of Afghanistan that led to the discovery of minerals worth trillions of dollars.”

Despite these pioneering achievements and being one of the top space-faring countries in the world, India accounts for just 2 per cent of the commercial space market share. With the private sector taking off, stakeholders hope that the country will be able to capture up to 10 per cent of the global market.

The Centre recently approved up to 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDIs) through three categories of liberalised entry routes in the private space sector, which will allow for more investments. “The (Indian) companies are already generating some revenue, but we are likely to see a significant increase soon. Take launch companies Skyroot and AgniKul, for example. They are likely to start commercial launches next year onwards,” Dr Goenka said.

Lt Gen Bhatt said providing tax breaks and production-linked incentives could help the nascent industry grow at a rapid pace.

He said, “More sources of capital were unlocked with the announcement on 100 per cent FDI. Our wish list now includes import exceptions for critical components and certain tax holidays. Creating space parks with facilities like equipment testing will help up-and-coming companies.”