The SSLV is developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation. It caters to the growing market for launching clusters of satellites. India's ambitious goal is to increase its share of the global satellite launch market

India's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) was developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation and had its first successful satellite launch in February.

India is making significant progress in its space program, with a recent initiative to privatise part of its operations.

Centre recently opened bids for the construction of its Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), attracting interest from 20 companies. This move is part of a broader policy drive by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to open up space businesses to private investment, following the lead of space agencies like Nasa, and the European Space Agency.

The SSLV, developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is designed as a cost-effective solution for launching satellites weighing up to 500 kg into low-earth orbit.

It caters to the growing market for launching clusters of satellites for communications and data, a sector currently dominated by SpaceX and its rivals.

The bid to take over the manufacturing and development of the SSLV rocket program marks the first privatisation of its kind under this new policy.

The process was initiated on July 11 by the newly formed Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), which invited qualified companies to register their interest.

Pawan Goenka, chairman of IN-SPACe, revealed that 20 companies had submitted an "expression of interest" in the rocket program.

These applicants will undergo a pre-EOI consultation within two weeks. To be eligible to bid, companies must be profitable, and the lead bidder in a consortium must have at least five years of manufacturing experience and an annual revenue of over $48 million.

India's ambitious goal is to increase its share of the global satellite launch market fivefold within the next decade.

Goenka expressed confidence that the winning bidder for the SSLV program would be able to develop the small-satellite launch business and position India as a global hub for such launches.

SSLV, the sixth launch vehicle designed and developed by ISRO, lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota for a 15-minute flight to Low Earth Orbit with three payloads weighing over 350 kilograms in February this year.

ISRO has said that the key features of SSLV are low cost, with faster turn-around time, flexibility in accommodating multiple satellites, launch-on-demand feasibility, and minimal launch infrastructure requirements.