The Modi administration’s foresight may be seen in its recent attempt to privatize the domestic space industry, which was formerly dominated by the government.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the Indian Space Association (ISPA) in New Delhi on October 11, 2021, with the goal of bringing critical technology and investment into the country as well as developing a policy framework to realize Mr. Modi’s vision of making India a global leader in space. “For 75 years since independence, Indian space has been controlled by a single canopy of [the] Indian government and government institutions,” the Hon’ble Prime Minister said at the ceremony. India’s scientists have made tremendous progress in recent decades, but there should be no constraints on Indian talent, whether in the public or private sector.”
“India’s scientists have made tremendous progress in recent decades, but there should be no constraints on Indian talent, whether in the public or private sector.”
Several international treaties, as well as two national policies, control India’s present space activities: the Satellite Communication Policy (SATCOM) and the Remote Sensing Data Policy (RSDP). The SATCOM policy was created in 1997 with the goal of expanding India’s space and satellite communications industry. In the year 2000, the Government of India (GOI) issued guidelines for implementing the 1997 policy. The RSDP was launched by the Government of India in 2001 and amended in 2011. It establishes clear guidelines for the distribution of satellite remote sensing data within India, stating that the Government of India (GOI) is the sole owner of all data received from Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS), with private entities being able to obtain a license only through the nodal agency.
Indian Space Research Organization
In 1962, India launched its space program. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was founded in 1969 and is located in Bangalore (now Bengaluru). Its mission is to accelerate the development of space technology and its applications. The Space Commission was created in 1972. In 1975, India launched Aryabhata, its first satellite, ushering in the space age. The Indian space program has achieved significant development over the previous four and a half decades, thanks to a well-integrated, self-sufficient program.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), founded in 1969 at Ahmadabad with Prof. Vikram Sarabhai as chairman, is the main agency responsible for providing guidelines, formulating policies, and monitoring the execution of the country’s space policy.
Objectives of ISRO
Dedicated to self-sufficiency in the use of space technology for national development, with a focus on:
- Satellite-based mass communication and education.
- Remote sensing, environmental monitoring, and weather forecasting are used to survey and manage natural resources.
- Development of indigenous satellites and satellite launch vehicles.
The ISRO Organizational Structure
The rise of a space power
As India celebrates 75 years of independence, it’s time to take a look back at the country’s space program, which has developed and evolved dramatically in recent decades.
Initially, the program concentrated on producing space assets that provided immediate developmental advantages, including as telecommunications and remote sensing satellites, which assisted in both enhancing communication and providing direct support to India’s farmers.
Overall, India’s efforts have been rather successful, and the country’s space program has evolved into a comprehensive one that comprises not just a solid launch capability and massive remote sensing satellite systems, but also a well-rounded research and deep space exploration program.
Establishing a space station and conducting manned space flights
In 2022, India plans to conduct its first human space mission to commemorate the country’s 75th anniversary of independence. The project has a budget of over $1.5 billion and is codenamed Gaganyaan, which means “space vehicle” in Sanskrit.
Gaganyaan will have a crew of two or three people and will stay in low Earth orbit for around seven days. The project, according to ISRO, is the first step toward India’s own space station, which it hopes to complete in five to seven years.
India became the first Asian nation to reach Mars months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s victory in 2014, when its maiden mission to the red planet entered orbit at a cost of $74 million, or less than the budget of the Hollywood space film “Gravity.”
By 2022, the government plans to deploy a second space probe to Mars with its first manned space expedition. It has also authorized a programmed to study the sun, which will begin late next year, and ISRO chairman Dr. K Sivan has stated that he hopes to reach Venus in 2023.
India is preparing these ambitious missions as a result of the construction of a series of progressively powerful launch rockets, the most powerful of which being the GSLV Mk III, which is as powerful as the Saturn V, the rocket that launched the Apollo lunar missions.”
National security
Over the last decade, India’s already formidable space program has taken on national security significance. Part of this is due to India’s increasing technical capabilities. However, one key reason for this shift is India’s rising security challenges, particularly in its relations with Pakistan and China. Over time, India has been far more prepared to explore the value of such weapon systems as the perceived necessity to keep up with Pakistan’s ballistic missile capabilities has become greater. Furthermore, in January 2007, China conducted its first successful anti-satellite (ASAT) test, making India’s space-based assets vulnerable. As a result, India has to contemplate creating its own ASAT capacity, if only to prevent others from employing ASATs against Indian space assets.
The expansion of India’s military space capabilities, as well as the building of the institutional architecture that supports the new tasks and responsibilities for space in India’s national security calculations, has been one of the most significant transformations in the recent decade.
In April 2019, India formed the Defense Space Agency (DSA), which is planned to serve as a precursor to a full-fledged aerospace command. It’s also forming a Defense Space Research Organization (DSRO), which will conduct research and development on the capabilities mix that’s needed, according to the DSA’s strategy and policy.
This is another example of the increasing synergy between space and military operations. The Indian space program is thus being pursued not only to meet its developmental needs, but also to address larger international political factors such as rising international tensions, great power competition, and a lack of adequate safeguards, international norms, and institutions to ensure that outer space does not become a weapon of mass destruction.
A leader in satellite launches for other nations
There are almost 2,000 operational satellites in orbit around the Earth. Almost half of them is affiliated with US-based organizations, 300 with Chinese organizations, and roughly half with Russian organizations.
The commercial space launch industry is crowded and competitive, with Russia’s Soyuz and Vega launchers vying with the European Space Agency’s launchers and US entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX reusable rockets.
Commercial spacecraft currently exceed military satellites by a large margin.
India is clearly the market leader in this area. In terms of space, the sky is not the limit for the country.
