Awaiting Lift-off into the Second Space Age

Why in the News?

• India achieved big during the First Space Age despite modest entry. Those achievements have provided India with a strong foundation to unleash its full potential in the Second Space Age.

 

The First Space Age

• The first space age became reality during the 1950s and 1960s.
• The Space Age began in 1957 with the launch of satellite Sputnik 1.
• In 1961, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the world’s first person in space.
• In 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon.
• During the first space age, 60 to 120 space launches took place annually. And 93% of these projects were by the US and USSR (now Russia).

 

The Second Space Age

• The contrast between the first space age and the second is stark.
• For instance, today there are more private players active in the space domain.
• Last year alone, out of 180 launches, 61 were by SpaceX, a private company owned by Elon Musk.
• Since 2020, 90% of space launches are by and for the private sector.

 

India's space journey

• India started its space journey in the 1960s.
• In 1963, India launched its first rocket, a US-supplied Nike Apache, from Thumba (Kerala).
• Subsequently, in 1969 Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) came into existence.
• With 15000 employees and an annual budget of 14000 crore-15,000 crore, ISRO has delivered more than what is initially envisaged from it.
  • It manages four to five launches annually, 53 operational satellites – 21 for communication, 21 for earth observation, eight for navigation, and the remaining as scientific experimental satellites.

 

Projects by ISRO

• SITE
  • The first major project by ISRO was Satellite Instructional Television Experiment.
  • This project was completed by leasing a US satellite in 1975-76.
  • The objective of SITE mission was educational outreach across 2400 villages covering 5 million people.

• INSAT and GSAT
  • This INSAT series in the 1980s, followed by GSAT, became the backbone of telecommunication and broadcasting infrastructure.
• Remote Sensing Capability
  • The use of space-based imagery was very beneficial for Weather forecasting, Forest mapping, Analysing agricultural yields, Groundwater and watersheds, etc.
• Satellite aided navigation
  • This project began with GAGAN; a joint project between ISRO and the Airport Authority of India.
  • The objective was to augment Global Positioning System (GPS) and to improve Indian air traffic management over Indian airspace.
  • This project has now expanded on a regional level and is called Navigation with Indian Constellation-NavIC.
     

ISRO's satellite launch capabilities

• In parallel, ISRO worked on its satellite-launched capabilities.
• It began with SLV-I in the 1980s.
• Next in line was Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which took a decade to develop and has become the most reliable launch vehicle of ISRO, with over 50 successful launches.
• Apart from PSLV, India has two more operational launch vehicles - Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk-III (LVM3).

 

The Second Space Age and India's Potential

• It can be said that the Second Space Age in India arrived with the advent of the Internet.
• The demand for satellite-based services, smartphones, OTT, and the 5G networks promise a double-digit growth in the Indian space economy, and it further shows how India can play its part in the Second Space Age.

 

Global and Indian Space Economy

• The global space economy in 2020 was 450 billion dollars and is expected to reach 600 billion dollars by 2025.
• Whereas, the Indian space economy was 6 billion dollars in 2020 and is expected to reach 13 billion dollars by 2025.
• It can reach 60 billion dollars by 2030, directly creating more than two lakh jobs. 

 

This can be achieved by:

• By increasing end-user revenue generated by the government from only a fifth now.
  • Media and entertainment account for 26% of India’s space economy. With consumer and retail services accounting for another 21%.
• By increasing Upstream space activities.
  • Downstream activities; Satellite services, and associated ground segment account for 70% of India’s space economy.
  • Upstream activities; satellite manufacturing, and launch services account for a smaller share.
• By creating a favourable environment and policies.

 

India's private sector and the Second Space Age

• Indian private sector is also responding to the demand in the space domain.
• A few years ago, there were only a dozen startups but today there are over a hundred startups.
• The investment has gone up from 30 million dollars in 2018 to 65 million dollars in 2021.

 

Govt steps for creating an enabling environment for the private sector:

• Talks of commercialising PSLV and GSLV are going on.
• In 2017, the government introduced the first draft space Activities Bill but it lapsed in 2019.
• NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) was set up to replace Antrix.
• The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) was set up in 2020 as a single window clearance for the private sector.
• Indian Space Association (ISpA) was created as an industry association.

 

Conclusion

• India needs legislation (a space activities act) to give legal framework to space policies, help set up a regulatory authority and create an enabling environment for raising venture capital funding into the Indian space start-up industry.
• By promoting private space players and regulating their activities, India will be better able to realise the Second Space Age.

 

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Q1) What is a geosynchronous orbit?

A geosynchronous orbit (GEO) is a prograde, low inclination orbit about Earth having a period of 23 hours 56 minutes 4 seconds.

 

Q2) What is NavIC?

NavIC, or Navigation with Indian Constellation, is an independent stand-alone navigation satellite system developed by ISRO, which consists of eight satellites and covers the whole of India’s landmass and up to 1,500 km (930 miles) from its boundaries.

 

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Source: The Hindu