ISRO Chairman: India Must Aim To Lower Cost Of Access To Space

The three-day International Space Conference (ISC) 2024, organized by SIA-India, features participation from over 300 global space organizations and 30 countries.

“ISRO has created significant space capability and talent in the country. It’s time for new actors to scale India’s space operations,” said S. Somanath at the event.

“Bringing down the cost of access to space is a global trend, and India must also look at it. Space can never be solely for business and economy; it must inspire generations to innovate for humanity,” he added.

Somanath also highlighted the upcoming launch of the GSAT-20, a high-throughput Ka-band satellite with over 50 Gbps high bandwidth connectivity capacity.

Dr. Pawan Kumar Goenka, Chairman of IN-SPACe, noted that India’s space startups are expected to increase following the new FDI policy. He expressed optimism about the private sector’s enthusiasm and the promising investment outlook, citing $135 million in investment received by the private space sector in India last year.

The event aims to showcase innovative initiatives by space startups and their strategic foresight in investments, shaping humanity’s destiny in space.

“The Indian ecosystem is integrating into the global supply chain to bring the benefits of space to all, aiming to make India the hub of global satellite manufacturing,” said Dr. Subba Rao Pavuluri, President of SIA-India.