The facilities are designed to rigorously Test and validate space technology under conditions replicating the harsh environment of space

In order to provide the private sector with “unparalleled opportunities” to rigorously test and validate their space technologies, a first-of-its-kind technical centre built by Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) in Ahmedabad was inaugurated by Union minister of state for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh.

“This centre is primarily focussed on satellites and payloads, while the simulation facility that we have is for launch vehicles and mission planning,” Pawan Goenka, Chairman IN-SPACe said on the sidelines of the inauguration. IN-SPACe is an autonomous nodal agency attached to the Department of Space, Government of India. This technical centre located at IN-SPACe’s headquarters at Bhopal is meant to support space non-governmental entities in designing, development, simulation and testing of space technologies. Goenka said the centre has been built at a cost which was “just less than ₹100 crore”.

Spaces Systems Design Lab

The Technical Centre at Bhopal has a Climate Simulation Test Facility, a Thermal and Vacuum Environment Simulation Facility, Vibration Test Facility, Space Systems Assembly Integration Testing and Checkout Laboratory and the RF and Opto-Electronics Laboratory and Clean Rooms for AIT activities.

These facilities are designed to rigorously Test and validate space technology under conditions replicating the harsh environment of space. It also houses the Spaces Systems Design Lab offering access to Simulation tools essential for mission planning and design analysis.

Goenka said India was focussing on manufacturing small satellites with the private sector for foreign players. “The manufacturing cost can be very low in India compared to other places. The manufacturing park which we have signed up for building on 100 acres at Sanand (near Ahmedabad) will focus on small satellite manufacturing,” he said, adding that the project was being developed jointly with the Gujarat government. Goenka also said that India was also focussing on developing small launch vehicles and ground station services with the private sector.

Private Sector Participation

The chairman of ISRO, S Somnath who was also present on the occasion said the private sector currently is just limited to supplying systems to ISRO. “Though 85 percent of our rocket is made by the private companies, they have not gone to the next level, as designers and conceivers of the whole system. We want to develop private companies like Lockheed Martin in India. This is a first step in creating such companies in India,” Somnath said during his interaction with the media.

Speaking at the event held for the formal launch of the Technical Centre, Union Minister Jitendra Singh expressed happiness that the “scepticism” between the private and public sector has been “done away with”.

“In this country, we always thought negatively about each other. The public sector always thought of the private sector as cheaters, if not thieves. The private sector always thought of the public sector as bribe takers. But I have been a strong advocate of this integration (between the public and private) and once I went to the extent of saying that when you move together in a bus or a train, the thieves, the bribe takers, all have to sit together. If you come to the conclusion that the destination is common, you have to rise to that pedestal, regardless of what has been your virtues or vices. So we have to share the good with each other,” Singh said.

The union minister said between April-December 2023, ₹1000 crore has been invested by the private entities in India’s space sector.

(With Agency Inputs)