Year-ender 2020: A defining year for Indian space sector

Even though the year 2020 would be known as Covid19 year it could also be termed as the defining year for the Indian space sector to put it in a different orbit with the private sector as a cotraveller of the Indian Space Research Organisation ISROAs a part of that the Department of Space DoS recently signed an agreement with Chennai based small rocket company Agnikul Cosmos Pvt Ltd to access the facilities and technical expertise available in ISRO centresAccording to DoS this is the first of its kind agreement to be signed after the establishment of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre INSPACe the authorisation and regulatory body for enabling private players to undertake space activities in IndiaUnder the agreement Agnikul Cosmos will be provided access to the facilities and technical expertise available in ISRO centers to proceed with their launch vehiclerocket development programmeCouple of days later Syzygy Space Technologies Pvt Ltd commonly known as Pixxel signed up with NewSpace India Ltd DoS commercial arm to launch its first satellite using ISROs Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV rocket early 2021Pixxel plans to have its Firefly constellation consisting of 30 small earth observation satellites by the end of 2022The DoS has also come out with three draft policies Draft Space Based Communication Policy of India 2020 Spacecom Policy2020 Draft Space Based Remote Sensing Policy and Revised Technology Transfer Policy Guidelines to enable the private sector play a greater role in the space fieldThe DoS Secretary and ISRO Chairman K Sivan said a policy for launch vehicles and rockets space exploration and also a comprehensive Space Act will also be announcedIn effect after insipid first half the year 2020 turned a bit interesting after the Central government decided to open up the sector for private playersDuring the start of 2020 Sivan had said that ISRO had planned to have 25 launches including AdityaL1 satellite Geo Imaging Satellite GISAT1 realisation of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle SSLV or small rocket carrying capacity 500 kg navigation satellite with indigenous atomic clocks and Indian Data Relay Satellite System IDRSS and GSAT20 satellite with electric propulsionSivan also said that India will embark on its third moon mission Chandrayaan3 and attempt to land a lander on the lunar surface sometime in 202021The year began well for ISRO with the launch of the 3357 kg communication satellite GSAT30 by the European space agency Arianespace rocket Ariane 5 on January 17ISRO also showcased its robothalfhumanoid Vyommitra which was part of its human space mission programme GaganyaanThe first setback of the year for ISRO came on March 4 when it had to call off the launch of GISAT1 a day before its actual launch owing to technical reasonsThe ISRO did not share any detail about the technical reasons or the glitch and its rectification since then It is also not known when the satellite with a very good camera would be launchedThen came the Covid19 lockdown within and outside India that had its cascading impact on ISROs core plans like the realisation of SSLV launch of GISAT1 delay in the first testflight of the rocket as part of Gaganyaan Indias human space flight missionMeanwhile two positive developments happened for ISRO securing an Indian patent for its liquid cooling and heating garment LCHG suitable for space applications and for its method of manufacturing highland lunar soil simulant or simply lunarmoon soilOn May 16 Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the Indian private sector will be a cotraveller in Indias spacesector journey and a levelplaying field will be provided for them in satellites launches and spacebased servicesShe also said that a predictable policy and regulatory environment will be provided to the private playersThe future projects for planetary exploration outer space travel and others are to be opened up for the private sector and there will be a liberal geospatial data policy for providing remotesensing data to techentrepreneurs subject to various checksOn June 24 the Union Cabinet decided to set up INSPACe making ISRO to focus on research and development RampD of new technologies exploration missions and human spaceflight programmeThe INSPACe would provide a level playing field for private companies to use Indian space infrastructureAs a part of the rejig DoS commercial arm New Space India Limited NSIL will endeavour to reorient space activities from a supply driven model to demand driven model thereby ensuring optimum utilisation of the countrys space assetsThe best is to establish an independent regulator Space Regulatory Authority of India SRAI which will create a levelplaying field for many of the emerging players Narayan Prasad Chief Operating Officer satsearch told IANSEstablishing an independent regulator could allow a systematic review and reforms on a continuous basis rather than oneoff announcements Prasad saidAs per current scheme of things INSPACe will have its own directorates for technical legal safety and security monitoring as well as activities promotion for assessing the private sectors needs and coordination of the activitiesINSPACe would have a board and representatives from industry academia and the government Sivan saidInitially INSPACe will be manned by people from the existing space setup Later people from outside will be taken in It will have its funds from the budgetary allocations for the DoS The new body may not need big financial allocations Sivan remarkedMeanwhile ISRO restarted its satellite launch operations on November 7 by putting into orbit the Earth Observation Satellite EOS1 formerly RISAT2BR2 and nine other foreign satellites in a text book style using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLVC49With this launch ISRO put into orbit a total of 328 foreign satellites all for a feeOn December 17 ISRO orbited Indias 42nd communication satelliteCMS01 formerly named GSAT12R with its PSLVC50 rocketWhile that was the last space mission for India in 2020 Sivan told IANS that the first quarter of 2021 will see Indian space agencys cash till ringing with the commercial launch of Brazilian satellite Amazonia as well as three Indian satellitesEnd of February or early March 2021 we will be sending our rocket Polar Satellite Launch VehicleC51 PSLVC51 The primary payload will be the Brazilian satellite called Amazonia an earth observation satellite Sivan saidThe PSLVC51 mission will be a very special mission not only for ISRO but also for India as the rocket will be carrying the earth observation satellite Anand made by an Indian startup called Pixxel Incorporated as Syzygy Space Technologies Pvt Ltd he addedThe PSLVC51 will also carry a communication satellite Satisat built by the students of citybased Space Kidz India and another satellite Unisat built by a consortium of three Indian universitiesAccording to Sivan Team ISRO has a busy schedule ahead for the launch of Aditya L1 satellite third moon mission Chandrayaan3 Gaganyaaan Indias human space mission and realisation of small rocket Small Satellite Launch Vehicle SSLVHe also said the SSLV will carry EOS02 Earth Observation Satellite and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch VehicleF10 GSLV carrying EOS3The other Indian satellites that are ready for launch are GISAT and Microsat2AOther developmentsInternational Maritime Organisation IMO has recognised NavIC as a component of the WorldWide Radio Navigation System WWRNSHindustan Aeronautics Limited delivered the biggest cryogenic propellant tank C32 LH2 for ISROs Geosynchronous Satellite Launch VehicleMk III GSLVIndias 700 kg cartography satellite Cartosat2F and Russias 450 kg KanopusV satellite had a near miss in the outer space on November 27ISRO opts for generic name for remote sensing and communication satellitesAn US court ordered Antrix Corporation to pay 12 billion as damages to Bengalurubased Devas MultimediaIndias human space mission Gaganyaan to be delayedChandrayaan2 completes a year of orbiting the moon100th birth anniversary of Indian rocket scientist Satish Dhawan celebratedISRO got the patent for Made in India Moon SoilBharti Global and the UK governmentled satellite communications company OneWeb launched 36 satellites with a Russian rocket SoyuzKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever