New govt facility to boost space startups

India’s space regulatory body has opened its first technical centre that it said would aid startups and larger private companies design and plan space missions.

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre’s (In-Space) facility in Ahmedabad will offer shared infrastructure including for climate simulation, thermal and vacuum environment simulation, and space systems assembly and testing environment. The centre has been on the agency’s agenda since the liberalization of the space industry for private sector participation in 2020, said Pawan Goenka, chairman, In-Space.

It would incentivize private companies to develop technologies and help boost commercial space projects in the long run, Goenka told Mint, adding that the centre’s facilities will be available for both early-stage startups and established companies.

The facility will “boost private space efforts and make India self-reliant in space technology,” said Jitendra Singh, Union minister of state for science and technology, at the facility’s inauguration.

“As we aim to grow our share in the global space economy from 2% to 8% by 2033, we have come up with new policies and eased restrictions for investments as well as space startups. The opening up of (foreign direct investment) in the space sector is one such progressive step,” Singh said.

S. Somanath, chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), added that Isro will work alongside In-Space to “to boost growth of the space economy and empower non-governmental entities.”