TeaThe Union Cabinet has approved the Indian Space Policy 2023, which aims to lay down rules for the roles and responsibilities of various institutions related to outer space, such as the Indian Space Research Organisation, NewSpace India Limited and private sector entities. While the industry is satisfied with the provisions, they are waiting for better details on investment including foreign direct investment and tax exemption for research and development expenditure. ISRO has monopolized all aspects of space programs since its inception and has been facilitating the private sector through transfer of technology MoUs and component contracts. But the government’s decision will increase the role of private institutions. However, the effectiveness of the private sector depends on many factors beyond their control which fall within the purview of government policy.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the economy, but also provided a rare opportunity to open up India’s domestic outer space industry to the private sector. Private entities would be interested in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites that have high commercial utility value such as communications and other network services. However, they must apply for a radio frequency license through country-specific regulatory authorities and then contact the Department of Space Services at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Additionally, satellites in orbit are controlled by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), where only governments are members, not private entities.
Simply allowing the private sector to play a more significant role in the overall space program, including building launch vehicles, satellites and other space-based services, will not generate revenue for industry unless they can monetize these deployments. Most space-based assets have a short lifetime and are highly susceptible to the risk of failure and malfunction. Communications satellites require sufficient bandwidth to be of commercial utility. The government or ISRO can negotiate to get enough bandwidth and build a radio frequency highway for leasing to private companies, like building national highways for vehicular use after paying a toll fee.
History, future of space exploration
Nearly sixty-six years ago, on 4 October 1957, USSR space scientist Sergei Korolev launched the first man-made object into outer space – a basketball-sized artificial satellite weighing 85 kilograms, known as Sputnik. goes. Launched on a large rocket, Sputnik circled the Earth at a speed of 29,000 km per hour, covering a distance of 70 million km in three months before falling out of orbit in January 1958. A beeping noise at regular intervals with no other cargo on board. The beeping emitted by Sputnik could be heard by radio listeners around the world, including by scientists who advised US President Dwight Eisenhower. The event led to a renewed emphasis on space exploration in the United States, which led to the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) a year later.
This formally started the “Space Race” between the United States and the Soviet Union, already engaged in the Cold War, which led to rapid advances in space technology, including landing on the Moon, launching the Space Shuttle, and manning the International Space Station (ISS). ISS). , The Soviet Union’s head start in outer space technology was confirmed when, four years after the launch of Sputnik, Yuri Gagarin became the first cosmonaut to orbit the Earth on 12 April 1961, exactly 62 years earlier. Even the sky was not the limit of human imagination. , effort and technological progress to counter the forces of gravity that have bound man to the earth. Also in 1962, the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was established under the leadership of Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, which later became the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in 1969 and was brought under the Department of Space (DOS). In 1972.
Also, in recent years a new space race has begun, not between nations but between private entities among the affluent classes of the West. This new space exploration is not for science or education but for entertainment, adventure and commerce. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and British business tycoon Richard Branson spent nearly eleven minutes in outer space, following the first all-civilian three-day space orbit adventure by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Space is infinite and belongs to all. It is not limited to a select few who know science or math or who are lucky enough to become astronauts. All those who can imagine the space can claim a piece of it. Outer space is full of inspiration for those who dream big. Nevertheless, it is also full of a few known and numerous unknown asteroids that are believed to be rich in metals such as platinum, gold, iridium, palladium, osmium, ruthenium, and rhodium. Asteroid mining is an area where India has not ventured fully yet. Only a strong and structured interface between industry, ISRO and academic institutions can put India on the infinite outer space map, if there can be one.
Seshadri Chari is the former editor of ‘Organiser’. He tweeted @sesadrichari. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)