CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has signed an agreement with the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to set up a Common Technical Facility (CTF) for space systems manufacturing at Allikulam, near the proposed spaceport site at Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi district.
The pact, signed at IN-SPACe’s annual industry conclave in Ahmedabad, lays the groundwork for a shared testing and integration hub that officials say is critical to scaling up private participation in the sector.
Under the arrangement, IN-SPACe will provide equipment worth up to Rs 100 crore, while the TN government will provide land and fund the construction of buildings, utilities and supporting infrastructure. The facility is expected to anchor a larger industrial cluster around the proposed spaceport.
The centre is designed as a shared-access testing backbone for private companies and start-ups building space-grade hardware.
The facility will house key testing systems, including vibration, shock, thermal vacuum, electromagnetic compatibility, pressure and flow simulation, alongside assembly and integration capabilities. Officials say this infrastructure will significantly reduce both the time and capital required to qualify components for space applications, easing one of the sector’s biggest bottlenecks despite recent policy liberalisation.
The agreement was signed by D Karthikeyan, chairman and managing director of the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation, and Anupam Anand, joint secretary at IN-SPACe, in the presence of senior officials including V Narayanan of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Pawan Goenka, chairman of IN-SPACe. Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay felicitated state officials involved in the initiative.
The combined launch and manufacturing ecosystem is expected to attract private investment, generate high-skilled jobs, and strengthen the domestic supplier base for space technologies. The initiative also aligns with India’s push to expand private participation in the space sector and build globally competitive manufacturing capacity, a statement from the Industries department said.