Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to engage a private sector industry in making a heavy duty satellite. The private sector is also working shoulder to shoulder with the Indian space establishment a satellite soon. ISRO has now roped with private industry to keep pace with satellite fabrication. After almost 150 missions and three decades of space-faring, ISRO is now encouraging private industry to make a full navigation satellite.
Alpha Design Technologies, Bengaluru is assigned to make two full satellites for India’s navigation system. A team of 70 engineers is working up on the satellite to get it done in the next six months. The team is lead by Colonel H S Shankar, the man behind electronic voting machines (EVMs) in India.
“It is a challenging task for any Indian company to undertake assembly, integration, and testing of a satellite and that too for the first time in India,” says, Shankar, Chairman-cum-Managing Director at Alpha Design Technologies.
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Satellite fabrication requires high precision as it cost hundreds of crores of rupees which functional for up to 10 years with no scope for repair. The space environment is very punishing and a high-risk activity.
“Basically, there is a gap between what we are capable of doing now versus what we are supposed to make. There is a gap between the requirement and our capability. That gap we want to fill up with support from the industry,” says, M Annadurai, Director of ISRO Satellite Centre in Bengaluru.
Recently, India has set a record by launching 104 satellites in a single mission. India hopes to create a healthy industry by supporting the private sector to learn the processes of making satellites.
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