THE MARKET

India’s space economy is expected to grow to $12.8 billion by 2025 (from $9.6 billion in 2020), with launch services segment pegged at $1 billion (up from $600 million)*

There is a growing global demand for launch vehicles to carry out multisatellite missions, says ISRO chairman S. Somanath

According to him, the Russian rockets are not in consideration anymore, while the commercial potential of Chinese rockets is not accepted by the West

The Ariane 6, which is being developed by ArianeGroup on behalf of the European Space Agency, has also been delayed

All these factors have opened up opportunities for India to enter this niche global satellite launch market, pegged at $6 billion*

OneWeb chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal says they will need about 12-16 launches in the years ahead, with ISRO expected to bag a few of them

*Source: Indian Space Association and Ernst & Young report