Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) Chairman S Somanath said on Thursday that at least 100 startups have registered for capacity-building and promotional support from IN-SPACe.
He was speaking during a session titled R&D of India – Innovation for Global Impact, at the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2022.
IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre), the autonomous nodal agency under the Department of Space (DoS), promotes space activities by non-governmental entities. Somanath, also secretary, DoS, said Isro was involved in hand-holding the startups on various aspects including technical acumen, identifying funding sources and scaling-up potential.
Isro and IN-SPACe have been connecting startups with professionals who help them curate their businesses.
The Isro Chairman said among the startups on board for the partnerships, at least 10 were engaged in building satellites.
Somanath’s comments came a day ahead of the first-ever launch of a privately designed and built rocket from India – Vikram-S. The launch vehicle, developed by Hyderabad-based space startup Skyroot Aerospace, will be launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, between 11 am and 12 noon, on Friday.
Somanath said the single-stage suborbital mission would demonstrate that young people “with a dream to build something big” could do it with the infrastructure available in the country.
IN-SPACe, on Wednesday, authorised the launch of Vikram-S. The mission, titled Prarambh, will carry three customer payloads. The launch vehicle has been built using advanced technologies, including carbon composite structures and 3D-printed components.
The Vikram-S rocket flight is a technology demonstration flight that will help validate the technologies set to be used in Skyroot’s subsequent Vikram-1 orbital vehicle, planned for launch next year. According to Skyroot Aerospace, the mission tests 80% of the technology for the Vikram series of orbital launch vehicles.