BENGALURU: The successful launch of the three-stage Vikram-1 rocket by private space start-up Skyroot Aerospace, and NASA’s invitation to ISRO in the Moon Base Mission, has enhanced the aspirations of the private firms in the space segment in India.
Private companies are now looking at launching smaller satellites into space for specific missions, specifically catering to agriculture, fueling and refueling, hyper-spectral imaging, and quicker, low-cost launches.
Private agencies are also looking at partnering with national and international space agencies in clearing space debris, one of the primary goals of the entire space fraternity. They are also working on addressing the environmental aspects in the space sector using flexible, reusable, carbon neutral materials. Programmes are also being redesigned to bring back rockets at the end of the mission cycle so that they do not add to space debris.
Sanjay Nekkanti, CEO and Co-founder of Dhruva Space, said Skyroot’s success is a significant milestone for the entire Indian space ecosystem because it builds trust. This will increase global confidence in India as a serious space technology destination.
International customers will now look at India not just as a source of engineering talent, but as a place where complete space missions, from satellites to launch and operations, can be executed. It will also open up opportunities for global partnerships, supply chain collaborations, and deeper technology co-development, he said.
From an investment standpoint, Nekkanti said success creates confidence and milestones like this give both domestic and international investors greater conviction that Indian space companies can build globally competitive businesses. “We are increasingly looking for faster deployment, predictable schedules and mission flexibility.
As India moves towards more frequent commercial launches, we create far more opportunities to place customer payloads into orbit without waiting for limited launch windows.
We are not far from seeing launches happening every month from India. That fundamentally changes how satellite companies plan missions. Instead of designing around launch availability, customers can begin designing around their business requirements,” Nekkanti said.
Adding to this, Sakthikumar Ramachandran, Founder and CEO OrbitAid Aerospace, said Skyroot’s Vikram-1 success demonstrates that Indian startups can build, test and execute complex space technologies, and it will further increase the aspirations of entrepreneurs, investors, customers, and young engineers.
“The next challenge is to move from individual technology demonstrations to reliable and commercially sustainable missions. The opportunities ahead are much bigger than the launch alone.
India can become a global hub for launch, satellites, Earth observation, communications, in-orbit servicing, space logistics, refueling, and eventually space infrastructure. The next decade should be about moving from Made in India for India to Built in India for Space globally,” he said.
But space scientists working with the government have said focus needs to be on the larger goals of India that need to be achieved, and not forgotten.
A former ISRO scientist said at present the startup companies are only scratching the surface. They should work on rockets weighing beyond 10-tonne, he said. “For the next generation launch vehicles, the present infrastructure is not sufficient. Mere public-private partnership model of working for ISRO is not enough. Tasks should be assigned to firms and they should be evaluated and incentivised,” he said.