The Indian Space Programme

by Gurbir Singh

  With over two decades of existence, Antrix has demonstrated the value of commercial opportunities in space. Indian technology start-ups are now participating actively in the resurgence in private sector space companies. This is an international phenomenon known as New Space 2.0. Over the last two decades, governments around the world have turned to IT systems to deliver their services. Now they want to exploit Space based services too. Recently the DOS identified 160 projects across 58 ministries and departments where the Indian private sector could help deliver government obligations using geospatial data.[997] The regulatory and legal framework required for New Space 2.0 is not yet in place. The government is beginning to address this along with structures needed for governance, investment, collaborative working between government and non-government (including academia) participants as well as international partners.

  Private sector start-ups have emerged in the Indian space sector. Earth2Orbit, founded in 2007 and headquartered in Mumbai, offers services, including the launch of foreign satellites by ISRO. Satsearch is an online repository for the small but growing supply chain of private companies producing space hardware. Based in India, the companies listed are located around the globe. Mysore based Bellatrix Aerospace was established in 2015. It conducts research and development for orbital launch vehicles and electric propulsion for satellites. Dhruva Space, based in Bengaluru, is planning to build small satellites in India for amateur radio operators and, with ISRO’s help, place them in orbit. Axiom Research Labs is participating in the Google Lunar X-Prize (GLXP) through Team Indus. The GLXP is an international competition for the private sector to land a rover on the Moon, travel at least 500 m and send back high-resolution images before the end of 2017. In 2014, Team Indus was one of three teams to win the milestone prize of $1 million (Rs.62 crore). It has signed a contract with ISRO to launch its lunar rover to the Moon current scheduling means the first rover to land on the Moon from India may not be ISRO’s.[998]

  While no private company in India is engaged in large-scale projects for space, many provide space-related components, subsystems or services. ISRO planned 50 launches during the 12th FYP (2012–2017), which would require 200 rocket engines, but it did not have the necessary manufacturing capacity.[999] It relied on private companies, including Godrej and Boyce to make engines for PSLV and GSLV and parts for the cryogenic engines; Larsen and Tourbo for rocket motor cases, rocket nozzles, solar arrays and wind tunnels; Walchandnagar Industries for antennae, satellite components and rocket motor casings; Venketeswara Industries for hardware and Tata Advanced Material Limited for advanced composite materials. Currently, only 40% of the materials required for the cryogenic stage are manufactured domestically. The quantities required for the rest are not sufficiently large to justify establishing an Indian manufacturing facility.[1000] A total of 130 organisations contributed to the making of ISRO’s MOM and the PSLV-XL launcher, of which only nine were from the public sector.[1001] Around 500 companies in India supply products or services to help ISRO’s programmes. Instead of a few large private companies being involved in large-scale space projects, many Indian private companies make a small contribution to ISRO’s space missions.

  Worldwide, the number of companies offering products or services, such as satellite launch, spacecraft subsystems or components, sub-orbital human spaceflight. There is vigorous growth in several areas of space technology, and many private companies are already engaged to varying degrees in a variety of space ventures. They include human spaceflights, cargo delivery to the ISS, asteroid mining, designing and building space ports, exploration of the Moon, hotel in space and the development of single-stage-to-orbit launch vehicles.[1002] India’s private sector is not yet technologically matured to compete in this highly competitive and growing international market dominated by companies, such as Space-X, Lockheed Martin, Blue Origin and Airbus. The US private sector is already responsible for the delivery of materials to and from the ISS, and soon, it will provide human spaceflight capability, too.

  Despite the 1991 economic liberalisation, India’s economy is still not sufficiently free to provide the support required by new start-ups. The barrier for the private sector making to make a substantial contribution is still largely structural and a product of the bureaucratic mentality that values administrative power over innovation and technical progress. Speaking in October 2014, ISRO chairman Radhakrishnan stated “Indian space agency will be creating a single entity to undertake launch missions, the entity will be a mix of public, private sectors, and ISRO itself.”[1003] If such an entity is created and it includes ISRO, there is a high probability that its success will be undermined by the very bureaucratic hurdles that have prevented its establishment to date. What the Indian space programme requires is an entirely private space sector modelled on the remarkably successful Indian IT sector. Private space companies require an environment free of excessive regulations where young Indian entrepreneurs are free to innovate. ISRO has established and grown its intellectual property portfolio to 10 trademarks, 45 copyrights and 270 patents. It has listed 29 spin-offs that have come out of its R&D work. They include fire extinguishing powders, search and rescue beacons, ground penetrating radar, adhesives and GPS software for mobile computers.[1004] The Vikram 1601 microprocessor used by all ISRO’s launch vehicles for guidance, navigation and trajectory control, was developed in-house by ISRO at its Semi-Conductor Laboratory in northern India.[1005]

  As part of ISRO’s technology transfer programme, over 300 technologies associated with electronics, computer-based systems, polymer chemicals, electro-optical instrumentation, satellite communications and broadcasting have been passed on to Indian industries.[1006] However, ISRO remains the intellectual property owner of the key technologies used by the private sector to manufacture launch vehicles and spacecraft components. The growth of these private companies is inherently tied to that of ISRO's. If ISRO were to allow its intellectual property to be used by the Indian private sector internationally for commercial purposes, the economies of scale might allow industry to compete on the world stage. ISRO itself would benefit from the resulting lower cost, shorter lead times and higher availability.

  After national governments driving space operations for over half a decade, a tipping point has now arrived where the public demand for space services is at a level that makes commercial sense for private industry to step in and take a more prominent role. ISRO recognises that it can only deliver by boosting its engagement with the private sector. International treaties, such as Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty, require governments to assume liability for the space activities of private companies within their national borders. A new “risk v reward quotient” is attracting private investment in innovative public-private partnerships.[1007] In early 2016, the ISRO chairman announced the establishment of an industrial consortium managed by Antrix that will integrate and launch PSLV from 2020.[1008] Another consortium, Alpha Design, overseen by ISRO, is building two IRNSS standby satellites. The first satellite was built with the active participation of ISRO and the second will be built by the consortium alone. ISRO is also looking at the option of setting up a special economic zone (SEZ) close to SDSC-SHAR, where independent companies could be set up to do international and domestic space business. In this way, ISRO hopes to foster and grow a private sector space capability within India.

  On its 50th anniversary, The Outer Space Treaty is being reviewed to reassess its applicability in the 21st century. Particularly in respect of its growing commercial opportunities in space. During a hearing of the space subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee in the US in June 2017, the value of US's continued commitment to the OST was debated. One view highlighted the international destabilising consequence of the US pulling out of the OST would be to create " confusion and uncertainty, hindering new commercial developments as well as established private sector space activities.”[1009],[1010]

  The number of private space companies has now exceeded government agencies
in the US. It was the US that led the content of the original OST in 1967. Through the publication of the draft bill entitled the American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act (FEA) of 2017, the US is set to shape the regulation of private space activity. Once approved, the FEA bill will determine if the US will exit the OST, amend it or how its obligations of international laws will be implemented in domestic law. The US has approved two private space ventures (the Bigelow inflatable habitat attached to the International Space Station, and Moon Express lunar lander mission) using a cumbersome process involving three separate agencies. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for telecommunications, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) for remote sensing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for launches and re-entry. Ideally, the new bill will identify a single one-stop-shop that can process private sector space projects. The implementation model US settles on will most likely inform how other nations will interpret international law.

  ISRO’s ecosystem has evolved such that Indian space-related private sector companies work only with ISRO, rather than the international space market.[1011] Perhaps, as ISRO engages with government initiatives, such as Make in India and Digital India, private sector investment could see a sharp growth, with Indian companies involved in space service emerging on the international stage, just as the Indian IT companies did in the 1990s. Further, to encourage foreign investment, the limit for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) was raised from 26% to 49% in 2014. The Make in India initiative of the government has a particular focus on space, allowing 100% FDI.[1012] Cooperation between India and Russia in the space sector, where the two nations have had a long and deep tradition, is also expected to be one of the areas of growth.[1013] Between 2004 and 2013, only 3% of the global launches took place in India, and only 3% of the satellites were manufactured in India.[1014] India is sixth on the list of nations with indigenous space capability and has a vast potential for growth.

  Research and Development

  Since independence, India has underinvested and lacks in the number and quality of R&D institutions.[1015] In 1970, ISRO established the Sponsored Research (RESPOND) programme to exploit the wider potential of Indian universities, industry and institutions to conduct leading edge research in space technology and space applications.[1016] The main objective was to establish strong links with academic and professional institutions throughout India to carry out quality research to support ISRO’s programmes. Since the 1970s, ISRO has allocated 1% of its annual space budget to the RESPOND programme for sponsored research.[1017]

  Figure 17‑1 Number of Projects in the RESPOND Programme between 1998 and 2011. Credit Adapted from Vikas Patel and Ankita Patel[1018]

  By the 1980s, RESPOND had matured creating stronger links with some institutions that became the base for ‘ISRO cells,’ including the IISc in Bengaluru and the Indian Institutes of Technology in Chennai, Mumbai and Kanpur. Over time, through this initial connection, many promising young graduates have found their way into full-time employment within ISRO. One study listed 239 projects between 1998 and 2011. The number of RESPOND programmes initiated and completed each year varied. A total of 21 RESPOND projects were completed between 18 different institutions and universities in the period 2010–11. Between them, they generated eight PhDs, two M. Tech thesis, produced 51 staff (principle investigators, fellows and associates) and published 78 papers in India and internationally.[1019] A more recent ISRO study of 71 completed RESPOND projects between 1998 and March 2014 concluded that 15 (21%) were good, 17 (24%) were excellent and 39 (55%) were very good. The 71 projects were distributed across 60 institutions at a cost of 732.06 lakh (1.1 million USD) and generated 18 PhDs.[1020]

  During the 1950s, it was the industrial development in the private sector along the US east-coast, the Boston-Harvard-MIT route (also known as Route-128), that provided much of the technical and engineering innovation that allowed the US to become the world leader in military technology and helped NASA’s Apollo programme to land on the Moon.[1021] In the 21st century, Silicon Valley on the US’s west coast became the cradle of the information revolution and continues to be the primary source of fresh ideas that shape the technology revolution worldwide. In 1984, NASA established the Office of Commercial Programs as a culmination of the strategy initiated by the Reagan administration’s National Policy on the Commercial Use of Space. In the US, the private sector continues to lead the technological innovation for government-sponsored space projects. Perhaps, ISRO hoped that RESPOND would be the spark to inspire a Route-128-like phenomenon in India. However, in India, this golden triangle of “lab-academia-industry” has not fully emerged.[1022] In the absence of a Route-128 equivalent in India, ISRO’s ability to grow remains limited.

  During the late 1960s, Vikram Sarabhai visited MIT several times and recognised that R&D companies on Route 128 were stimulating innovation and industrial growth.[1023] Although ISRO has a long way to go to match the US’s route 128 model, it has taken the first steps. Now, ISRO is looking beyond the RESPOND programme for new ways to engage industry. Under a new initiative starting in 2017, ISRO will offer larger sponsorships in the region of Rs.20–30 lakhs ($30,000–40,000) over longer periods extending between 2 to 3 years to any parties, not just academic and government agencies. The R&D projects will be more advanced, sophisticated and riskier designed to create materials, components and systems for future launch systems.[1024]

  Global Space Market

  Determining a precise quantitative value of ISRO’s economic output is difficult as it is for any large complex organisation supported by the public sector. This is true for NASA, JAXA and other national space programmes around the world. Development resulting from access to education and medicine and economic growth enabled by the national space programme are mostly intangible and inherently difficult to measure. Satellite-based early warning systems save lives, livestock, crops and urban infrastructure, the value of which is impossible to quantify. The space race of the 1960s not only enhanced national prestige but also accelerated the development of technology, generating wider social and economic benefits and enhanced quality of life in Russian and American societies. As developed and developing nations increase their dependency for mobile communications, navigation systems and online access, the commercial market for building and launching space-based services will continue to grow.

  Modern economies are increasingly reliant on space based services (such as traffic lights, transport system, banking services, freight etc.) where most service users are usually unaware of the dependency on orbiting spacecraft. This increasing demand is manifest in the observed growth of the global space market, and the trend is set to continue. In India, the number of landline phones, around 40 million, was surpassed quickly by an estimated 850 million mobile phones. During 2010–2011, India saw a growth of 15 million mobile phone subscriptions, every month.[1025] The number of space-based services, including telephone communication, satellite TV and Satnav services, is set to increase in the coming decade.

  The number of personal computers, including laptops and tablets, is increasing by around 15% per year. By 2020, India will have the largest working age population in the world, which will further increase the demand for space-based services. At the beginning of the Space Age, developments in the space industry helped stimulate the consumer market; today, it is the other way around. Innovation in hardware and software, especially in digital consumer products, such as high-speed network switches, computer memory, digital cameras and particularly smart phones, has helped to develop the small satellite market. The hardware used for modern tablets and smart phones is smaller, cheaper, faster and demands less power than equivalent hardware only a few years ago. Modifications required to get this hardware to work in the extreme conditions of space are not onerous.

  Today, small satellites with powerful functionality can be developed quickly at low cost by assembling subsystems using COTS components. Small satellites are low in weight and consequently ch
eaper to deliver to orbit. Commercial organisations that in the past found the cost of space assets prohibitive are now helping to build a new customer base for low-cost space services. This new market offering a range of services, including communication, search and rescue, disaster management and basic research, is attracting clients, such as academics, amateur radio enthusiasts and small countries that otherwise would not be able to justify the cost. Cubesat, a 10-cm cube, is a popular nano satellite used predominantly for testing and R&D by institutions, universities and non-profit organisations.

  The use of small satellites has seen a growth from about 25 in 2013 to over 80 in each of the subsequent 3 years. They typically cost between $10,000 and $20,000 (Rs.6 to 13 lakhs) but a new suit of launchers dedicated to small satellites is expected to dramatically reduce the costs to around $30,000 (Rs. 3 lakhs).[1026] However, the income they generate is minimal, and occasionally for student/academic research projects, they are launched without charge.