Key Points
But its private sector has played a limited role in space exploration, acting mostly as suppliers and vendors for its national space agency, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).. . Thats changing quickly, owing to a raft of government reforms aiming to boost private participation in the space sector..
Now Indian homegrown startups like Skyroot Aerospace, which launched the countrys first private rocket in 2022, are leading the charge to commercialize Indias space sector and bolster its status as a space superpower.. . Inside a sleek rocket hanger in the southern city of Hyderabad, the company is preparing for lift-off of the seven-story tall Vikram-1 rocket, which will take Indias first privately launched satellites into orbit.. . Thatll be a major milestone for us, Pawan Chandana, a former ISRO scientist who co-founded Skyroot Aerospace in 2018, told CNN..
Last year, for example, one SpaceX journey powered by its Falcon 9 rocket, which can carry 22,000 kilograms (48,500 pounds) into LEO launched 51 small satellites into orbit for multiple companies.. ..
(Chandana says that mass production and better technology may enable further cost reductions).. . Chandana compares SpaceXs ridesharing missions as a train to go to space and Skyroots operations as cabs to get into space, where we take satellites to their customized locations.. ..
Once prices drop, there will be more interest in people wanting to choose dedicated launches without compromising on going for a rideshare mission, he said.. . Customized launches might be useful for those who want to send smaller payloads aiming to reach a diverse amount of orbits that might not be possible to get to by ridesharing, says Kari Bingen, director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think-tank based in the US.. ..
