IN-SPACe invites private sector to build, operate earth observation satellite system

Bengaluru: The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) has invited proposals from Indian companies interested in building and managing a space-based earth observation (EO) system.

The agency on Thursday released an Expression of Interest (EOI) in connection with the proposed EO system which is envisioned under a Public-Private Partnership model. Billed to provide a significant push to the EO-based space economy in India, the project involves designing, building, and launching of a constellation of satellites equipped with advanced imaging technologies.

Under the programme, non-government entities (NGEs) can design, build, and establish Low Earth Orbit constellations of satellites with a combination of technologies that involve multispectral, hyperspectral, and other sensors. These NGEs can launch the satellites through Indian satellite launch vehicles, monitor and control the health of the spacecraft, and download the payload data through their ground stations or Ground Stations as a Service (GSaaS) providers.

They will be required to process the downloaded payload data to generate analysis-ready data that can have wide-ranging applications.

Pawan Goenka, Chairman of IN-SPACe, said the IN-SPACe-ISRO initiative was aimed at creating a sustainable EO system that caters to the growing demand for EO data. “It is envisaged that the upstream infrastructure of the satellite constellation with advanced imaging technology will create significant downstream commercial potential, resulting in more competitive products,” Goenka said.

The EOI is available on www.inspace.gov.in. IN-SPACe said interested companies can visit the website to learn more and register for a pre-EOI conference scheduled on August 8.