Ex-ISRO Chairman K. Sivan says India has three bars of reliable launch vehicles, PSLV, GSLV, and GSLV Mk III.
In an extensive conversation with The Sunday Guardian, former ISRO Chairman K. Sivan discussed India’s space programme’s success story and other issues. Excerpts:
Q: What are the reasons behind India’s leap in the space sector?
A: The Indian space programme started in the 1960s with the unique and noble vision of providing space-based services to the common man of the country. It was an innovative idea that for a country like India with its immense size and diversity, space technology is the only platform for fast-track development. This is because nearly 75-80% of the population is rural mass and resides in remote, unserved and underserved areas. In order to make India a developed country, it is possible only if the benefits of advanced technologies reach the doorsteps of this higher mass and space technology is being used as the tool to do the task. At the same time, to ensure uninterrupted services to the common man at a very low cost, it is essential that the required technologies be developed indigenously.
With this vision, India had developed all the launch vehicle technologies, including high-technology of cryogenic engines, advanced microwave sensing satellites, high throughput communication satellites, innovative space science missions, unique navigation satellite constellation and the required ground systems, all indigenously designed, realized at very low cost.
Now, India has three bars of highly reliable launch vehicles, namely, PSLV, GSLV, and GSLV Mk III, ferrying our advanced satellites into space for national development and applications. These advanced low-satellites provide low-cost services in all the areas of safety, security and quality of life for every common man. Our applications are unique in the sense, combining all the types and services of satellites, they provide real-time services for disaster warning and management, the livelihood of fishermen and their safety through custom-made apps, national natural resource management, supporting all the government schemes in various capacities for better governance, broadband connectivity to remote, unserved and underserved areas. Our science missions have very cost-effective innovative payloads and made many scientific discoveries as against very costly missions of other space faring nations.
In addition, because of the lower cost of Indian launch vehicles and their services, foreign customers preferred Indian launchers to launch their satellites, which earned a significant amount of money for the Government of India. In short, we are totally self-reliant in space technologies at low cost as well as providing launch services to other countries for a cost.
Considering our capabilities and success story, as part of space diplomacy, many nations had space collaborations to build and launch their satellites by India. As a space-faring nation, India is also providing training programs free of cost for professionals from aspiring nations.
Q: How do you view private participation in the Indian space industry and its future?
A: The participation of private industries in the Indian space sector is an excellent initiative by the Hon’ble PM and is the need of the hour. The satellite-based application is exponentially increasing which needs a huge number of satellites to be placed around the earth. This increased demand cannot be met by ISRO alone with the present capabilities, resources and manpower. Globally, there is a prediction that hundreds of thousands of satellites are to be launched in the near future for meeting various high-end applications. At present global space, the economy is about $450 billion. 2% for the launch vehicle, 5% for spacecraft, 45% for applications and 48% for ground infrastructure. This is going to be increased multifold with the huge number of satellites and applications. At present, India’s contribution to the global space economy is only about 2%, but if we are unlocking India’s potential in the space sector, it is feasible to capture a significant amount of the global space economy. With these visions in mind, considering the fact that ISRO alone cannot meet the above requirements, private industries are allowed to carry out all space activities, namely, launching vehicles, building and launching spacecraft, realizing ground systems and providing applications. To implement the space sector reform which ensures private industries carry out space activities feasible, a single window authorizing mechanism (IN-SPACe) has been formed. The space policy and space act bill are also in the pipeline for making suitable ecosystems to carry out private space activities in India. Also, for helping private industries to do the space activities business with ease, for this high investment, highlight-risks, provisions are made to use all the easily built infrastructure of ISRO as well as to technologies transfer to industries for a minimal cost.
Considering the increased potential in the space sector and the supporting mechanism by the GOI, more than 140 start-up industries have already started space activities. This is significant with respect to this type of high-technology and high-risk areas.
The above private industries came forward to carry out the areas of space activities, namely, launch vehicle building, spacecraft building, launching of spacecraft, and producing ground equipment to provide space-based services. The results have started coming.
With this growth trajectory, I predict, in the near future, the Indian private industries are going to occupy a major portion of the space activities in India as well as capture a significant portion of the global space economy market.
Q: How will future missions like Aditya L1, Chandrayaan-3, XPOSAT and Gaganyaan benefit India?
A:Aditya-L1 Mission I is planned to study the sun’s behaviour, especially its corona. This will provide insight into the study of global climate change, which will be useful for the most important climate change impact and for suitable management. Chandrayaan-3 Mission will demonstrate the technologies required for landing in another space body/planet. After landing, the lander and rover will carry out in-situ science experiments about the moon’s water, minerals etc. This will give two advantages: (a) landing technologies for future human presence in space, (b) making use of the resources available on the moon for the benefit of humankind as well as to create future human habitats on the moon.
XPOSAT Mission is an x-ray polarimetry satellite, which will be useful for studying distant planets on various scientific discoveries.
Gaganyaan Mission is required to demonstrate technologies to send humans safely to space and bring them back safely to Earth. This will ultimately give way to creating a space station and technologies for human presence for a long duration in space. By doing so, various materials, medical applications, and precision equipment, which cannot be fabricated under a gravity environment on Earth, can be manufactured in space. These items will have future applications in health care, electronics and safety, security and quality of life on Earth.
Q: What is the future of ISRO and the Indian Space sector according to you?
A: ISRO will be concentrating on advanced technologies research and development in the space sector in the areas of launch vehicles, satellites and applications. Once these technologies are developed, they’ll be transferred to industries for scaling up. The private industries will be working on mass production and providing mass services to society.
In future, the Indian space sector will be the combination of ISRO’s R&D and scaling and production of space activities by industries. This combined ecosystem will take a global space leadership role.
Q: What are the current and future challenges the Indian space agency faces and how will it overcome them?
A: At present, though we had indigenized almost all the technologies, in mainly two areas, we still depend on foreign sources for (a) carbon-fibre; (b) electronics.
To make it fully indigenous, it is essential to be self-sufficient in these areas also. Regarding electronics, the Government has taken a semiconductor mission. With this initiative, the required electronics for launch vehicles and satellites will be supplied by Indian
industries.
Regarding carbon fibre, R&D has been done by ISRO and DRDO along with industries. Encouraging results were seen. Efforts must be put into industrial mass production of this material to supply launch vehicles and satellite programs. Other important strategic materials development is also being carried out by ISRO with the help of industries, which has to be speeded up so that we can be 100% self-sufficient in all the areas of space
activities in India.