India’s space story is entering a new orbit, with private players, small-satellite technologies and emerging hubs such as Hyderabad reshaping an industry once dominated by the government. Few have witnessed this transition as closely as Sudheer Kumar N, who spent decades at Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) before moving into the private space ecosystem and now works with XDLINX Space Labs. Drawing on his experience across Tata Steel, ISRO and the private sector, he offers an insider’s view of what it takes to build, scale and commercialise India’s space capabilities. CE interacts with Sudheer Kumar to discuss the changing space landscape, Hyderabad’s potential, the rise of small satellites and what lies ahead for India’s space economy.
Excerpts
What prompted you to leave Tata Steel and move into the space sector?
During those days, unlike today, startups and youngsters did not have so many options. Our generation had fewer opportunities and more qualified people, so wherever an opportunity came, we had to take it. We did not have many choices to dream about or choose our career paths. This generation, however, has a much wider selection of career options because of the many opportunities available.
I joined Tata Steel through campus selection, based on my profession in industrial engineering. After six years, I got an opportunity in the ISRO, a central government organisation, just two hours from my native place. This, along with self-pride and alignment with my qualification and experience, led me to shift from a private giant to a government giant.
Looking back at your journey from Tata Steel to ISRO and now the private space sector, which transition shaped your approach to engineering and leadership the most?
Tata Steel is a great organisation, and I learned a lot in a very short span because of its private-sector nature. At that time, Tata Steel was undergoing major modernisation, and I had the opportunity to work with management giants like Booz Allen and Hamilton on total operating performance. The entire organisation was undergoing a shift in production, and I became part of the solution during this transformation. We worked on projects to improve productivity, reduce wastage, eliminate non-value-added activities, optimise manpower and introduce modernisation.
I was also put through XLRI for management courses covering functional and behavioural management, along with domain experience. It was a great period in my life, where I gained considerable experience and skills in a limited span.
When I moved to ISRO, I realised these practices could help make a government organisation more effective. Working in project realisation allowed me to implement the private-sector efficiency and proficiency I had gained at Tata Steel.
How do you see Hyderabad’s role in this changing landscape?
Space technology was initially dual-use, and national security was the priority, which is why it remained with the government. But once security measures are in place, the economy and other factors come into play. The government alone cannot meet the growing requirements because procedures, rules and regulations can create impediments to productivity and scale.
That is why the government introduced reforms enabling private-sector participation in the space domain. This is not privatisation, and ISRO is not going to be privatised. It is private participation to multiply the space economy and strengthen the country’s capabilities across multiple roles.
Three to four years is a short period for deep-tech organisations to build capabilities, capacity and scale. Indian private startups are moving in the right direction, but they need more time and opportunities. The government, as an anchor customer, must provide more orders and opportunities. Capability is built within organisations, while capacity and scaling require the wider ecosystem. In India, the government remains the largest space consumer, and greater encouragement through orders will help industry demonstrate its capacity and meet expectations.
Can Hyderabad evolve into a truly end-to-end space ecosystem?
That depends on how the government encourages the ecosystem, whether through incentives or other forms of support. Hyderabad has significant potential as a space hub, even though Bengaluru has historically been the aerospace and space hub, with the headquarters of ISRO, NAL, DRDL and HAL located there.
Hyderabad’s potential comes from its early IT boom, competitive skilled manpower and relatively lower infrastructure and real estate costs compared to Bengaluru. Many startups are now moving to Hyderabad because of skilled manpower, lower infrastructure costs and a supportive ecosystem.
Companies such as Skyroot, Dhruva Space and XDLINX, where I work and which has a substantial Government of India order book, are proof of this growing potential. Hyderabad therefore has opportunities to become a hub — or, as I would say, a secondary hub — for the space sector.
After decades at ISRO, what surprised you most about the way private space companies operate?
Private companies have more freedom to act because decision-making is faster, allowing them to move quickly towards solutions without being restricted by procedures. They also have greater access to global markets, enabling them to source internationally and cross boundaries more freely for business development.
ISRO has greater concentration of knowledge, skills, capabilities and technology. Through spin-in and spin-out, these technologies can be transferred to industry, allowing private companies to adopt them rather than reinventing the wheel. Private companies are also strong in manufacturing and sourcing, enabling faster deliveries compared to government organisations and helping increase the rotation of the space economy.
However, regulation and promotion still need government support through a single-window system. IN-SPACe is doing well, but more needs to be done through measures such as excise-duty exemptions and industry-friendly interactions for filings and clearances. These processes are being eased, but there is still room for improvement and greater business facilitation.
What makes the small satellite segment particularly exciting right now?
One major development is the miniaturisation of electronics, which is bringing down satellite sizes. At ISRO, we used to launch 1.6-tonne, 1.5-tonne or 1-tonne satellites to GEO, and 4-to-6-tonne satellites for communication purposes. Today, improved electronic systems and miniaturised packages can deliver the same quality and data from a 200-to-250 kg satellite that earlier required a 1-tonne satellite.
This transformation is driven by advances in semiconductors. Small satellites, particularly micro and nano satellites, are likely to replace heavier satellites because they are more cost-competitive and offer greater revisit times. They also have advantages in terms of life expectancy, as lower costs make it possible to deploy multiple satellites within a cyclic period. In the future, small satellites could be the way to meet customer expectations.
How is XDLINX Labs using AI, automation and advanced electronics to make satellite development faster, smarter and more cost-efficient?
We adopt edge computing techniques in our payload server. In an optical payload moving around the Earth, almost 70 to 80 percent of the data captured may be non-functional or non-utilisable, such as data over oceans or under cloud cover. Transmitting this data to the ground would require higher data rates and power consumption. Instead, we incorporate edge computing onboard the payload server to screen out non-value-added information and send only the valuable portion to the ground. This is essentially an artificial intelligence or deep-learning technique and is not very common among satellite providers.
The second is advanced electronics. We use highly efficient chips, which, although imported, help reduce the form factor of the entire avionics package. These are the two key areas XDLINX is adopting to reduce form factors while maintaining the efficiency customers expect as satellites continue to become smaller.
What will your upcoming R&D facility at GMR Aerospace Park enable XDLINX to do in Hyderabad that was difficult earlier?
The important thing is the payload. Every satellite has two portions — the bus and the payload. While the bus can somehow be managed, the payload requires significant R&D and other development, particularly optical payloads, as well as communication and thermal payloads.
Currently, only ISRO has this capability, with no industry offering it at scale for commercial consumption. We want to undertake this development, starting with the first article. The development will happen at this research facility, after which we will use the supply chain and ecosystem to scale it up. We will also undertake testing such as EMI, EMC and vibration testing. To reduce cycle times, we need minimum in-house capabilities to qualify our own subsystems.
The R&D facility will incorporate all these features, making it self-sufficient at the subsystem level, enabling us to build first articles end-to-end and then utilise the ecosystem for scaling up.
What’s more on the plate?
The opportunities are many — strategic, commercial and civilian. India has high potential in the space domain, both for domestic consumption and to become a global exporter. The initial technologies, whether optical or communication, and the payload development, have to be developed and proven to show that they work and deliver data as expected by users. That is exactly what we are doing — building the capability first. Once we prove the optical technology, there are a huge number of constellations lined up, including for defence applications. Customers are looking for solution providers who can deliver reliable, high-resolution data for various applications.