Pvt sector takes giant leap with Isro
1st satellite built by private firms for space agency to launch today
The private sector will ride piggyback on Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) into space on Wednesday with the launch of IRNSS-1H, a satellite of the Indian Regional Navigation constellation, and the first to be made by the private sector in the five-and-a-halfdecade-old space programme.
“This is a new beginning for the private sector,” said Dr Mylswamy Annadurai, director, Isro’s Satellite Centre (ISAC), and added that his colleagues provided on-thejob training for 70-odd engineers of a consortium led Alpha Design Technologies Ltd, Bengaluru, on integration and testing the satellite.
A similar satellite would be made to Isro’s exacting standards by the same consortium by April 2018 but with lesser support from Isro’s engineers and technicians.
India Inc’s debut flight into space coincides with an invitation or “Expression of Interest” issued by Isro to private firms and consortia to sign a contract for manufacture of heavy-duty satellites.