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India and International Engagement in Outer Space Exploiting the Commercial Value of Space
ORF Space Initiative Program March 17 2015
By D.S. Govindarajan
Introduction
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• The intent here is to deliberate on:
 International cooperation  Commercialization of the Indian space program
• The overall objective is to:
 Present the facts
 Emphasize the need to accelerate already existing policies /programs and  Suggest some new ideas going forward
Commercialization of Space industry
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Going to the Moon may not bring commercial value but it has great impact on economy
Space offers enormous business opportunities – shifted from nations to commercial enterprises
 Space X – A private spaceflight company which docked with the International Space Station
in May 2012 marked the beginning of this new era of a commercial space race.
 Orbital Science –Was the second private company to send a spacecraft to the space
station;
 Many other firms including Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and XCOR Aerospace are making
their own rockets.
 And then there are satellites such as Planet Labs, Skybox Imaging and Nanosatisfi, among
other small firms which have taken what was once the domain of governments and big
corporations
 Students also join the space race ‐ Surrey University Space Center, U.K. blasted a rocket
into orbit. Its payload: a smartphone, kitted out to do some basic research.
 Generation Orbit (GO) a start‐up based in Atlanta, is run by just a handful of young
entrepreneurs/ seasoned aerospace veterans and specializes in providing dedicated launch
services to the emerging market for tiny nanosatellites.
Race between space faring nations bringing real value
Business beyond Earth
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Investment in the Space industry has produced good returns
 directly in the form of telecommunications and remote sensing capabilities
 indirectly in the form of technological spin‐offs, national prestige and scientific knowledge. The space industry still has untapped potential for major industrial growth. In order for the space industry to fulfil this potential, it must provide a commercial return on when it will attract commercial capital investment.
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With more nations realising the strategic impact and economic potential of space, motivations for national space activity are not only about the fulfilment of ambitions but also about the development of an industry that can compete in a global market place
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The global space industry is experiencing steady growth throughout ‐ With steady
increases in both Space budgets by Governments and growth in the commercial
sector, spending in space and future prospects for generating value is more
promising
Space is not merely a destination; it is an engine for Economic Growth
Introduction to Indian Space Program
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 Space activities were initiated with the setting up of the Indian National
Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) in 1962.
 The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was established in 1969.
 In 1972, Government of India constituted the Space Commission,
established the Department of Space (DOS) and brought ISRO under DOS .
 ISRO currently has a constellation of 9 communication satellites, 1
meteorological satellite, 10 earth observation satellites and 1 scientific
satellite.
 PSLV is a highly successful launch vehicle which has launched 30 spacecraft
(14 Indian and 16 from other countries) into a variety of orbital paths so far.
PSLV can also launch small satellites into geo‐stationary transfer orbit (GTO).
 GSLV is an expendable launch system developed to enable India to launch its
INSAT‐type satellites into geostationary orbit.
 Mars Orbiter Mission is ISRO’s first interplanetary mission to Mars.
Indian Space – An Overview ANIARA
 India ranks among the top six space faring nations of the world in terms of
budget and technological capabilities.
 India’s space budget accounts for approx. 0.14 percent of GDP
 Almost half of the budget is focused on development and operation of
launch vehicles and related activities. The remaining is devoted to space
technology and applications including satellite operations.
 As pointed out by the former President of India, Dr. APJ Kalam :
"Mankind's 21st century thrust into space would herald in the world's next industrial revolution,
which might be called the 'Space Industrial Revolution'. This does not mean that the revolution
will take place only in space; it essentially means the creation of architectural and revolutionary
changes leading to new space markets, systems and technologies on a planetary scale.“
 ISRO’s long‐term plan ‘Vision 2025’ for the Space Research Programme
encompasses development of reusable launch vehicles, human space
flights, enhanced imaging capability, satellite based communication,
navigation systems and planetary exploration.
International cooperation in space
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 International Cooperation is an important aspect of India’s Space policy.  Signatory to UN Treaties in the fields of Exploration and Peaceful Uses of
Outer Space
 Actively contributing to cooperation in multilateral forums such as
UNCOPUOS, ITU, IADC, GEOSS, CEOS, SFCG, IAF/IAA/IISL, COSPAR
 Actively supporting regional cooperative initiatives such as UN affiliated
Centre for Space Science and Technology Education for AP, APSRAF, space
applications and capacity building programs of ASEAN, SAARC, UN ESCAP
 Recent cooperative missions such as Chandrayaan‐1 mission with effective
multi‐lateral cooperation
 International cooperation is multi‐dimensional:
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Scientific
Commercial, Industrial and Trade relations
Political/Policy coordination
Cultural (Education/ Capacity Building exchange)
Humanitarian (Disaster Management)
Progress in International Cooperation
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Earth Observation
– ISRO, NASA, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have active cooperation
in the area of oceanography through the sharing and analysis of data from ISRO’s OCEANSAT‐2
satellite.
– ISRO and NASA are also working to derive the best possible global precipitation data for
research and applications using the joint ISRO‐French Space Agency Megha ‐Tropiques satellite
and the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) constellation of satellites.
– NASA, in cooperation with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, launched the GPM Core
Observatory Satellite and make data from this satellite available to ISRO for studying tropical
atmosphere.
– ISRO and NASA are also cooperating under the multilateral framework of the Committee on
Earth Observation Satellites and the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations.
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Satellite Navigation
– India is implementing a Global Positioning System Aided Geo Augmented Navigation System
(GAGAN) for civil aviation purposes through a commercial agreement with the U.S. firm
Raytheon.
– India is also working on its indigenous satellite navigation system, a seven‐satellite constellation
known as the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). Coordination to ensure
compatibility between IRNSS and the U.S. Global Positioning System is currently under way.
Indo – U.S. Cooperation ANIARA
 Indo‐US cooperation in the space arena dates back to the very beginning of the
Indian space programme.
 The first sounding rocket, a Nike‐Apache launched from Thumba on November 21,
1963 was a US made rocket that carried instruments to conduct ionospheric
experiments.
 India conducted the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) in the mid
1970s with NASA. SITE involved deployment of Direct Reception TV sets in about
2400 villages across six states of India to receive educational programmes via ATS‐6,
covering agriculture, family planning, health and hygiene, etc. The experiment was
hailed as the world's largest sociological experiment.
 This was followed by the establishment of Indian National Satellite (INSAT) System
in the 80s. All the four satellites under INSAT‐1 series were built by Ford Aerospace,
U.S.
 India, along with seven other countries, has signed a landmark agreement with the United States (NASA) to carry out lunar exploration. The agreement was signed at American space agency NASA's Ames Research Centre on 28th July 2008.
Indo‐U.S. Cooperation ‐Progress
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 United States ‐ India Civil Space Joint Working Group
U.S. and India pursue civil space cooperation under the framework of the Joint
Working Group on Civil Space, constituted in 2004. Since then, space cooperation
has expanded to the areas of space science, earth observation, satellite navigation,
natural hazards research, disaster management support, and education
 Space Science
Building on the highly successful Chandrayaan‐1 lunar mission, the NASA and ISRO
agreed to explore further cooperation in such fields as planetary science and
heliophysics, as well as potential future missions to the moon and Mars.
Going Forward
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Other Nations
India Explore “Make In India” Opportunities
JVs with Indian companies
Commercial space services via Indian companies (GIS)
Effective use of existing infrastructure
Exploit the rich talent pool for operational efficiency
Encourage Government ‐ Industry ‐ Academia Triad to enable core indigenous competence in critical areas
Position appropriate policies and institutional mechanisms
Joint Programmes
• Create leadership programmes, incubation fund for young entrepreneurs. Incubation
Fund should be independent of Government and encourage industry participation
• Scientific Personnel Exchange Program and Fellowship Programmes
• Strengthen the Joint Working Group that represents agency, academia, industry to
steer flagship programmes for exchange. Working group shall meet at least once in 6
months
• Hold biennial Joint symposium / Workshop on space cooperation which will help
understand, discuss and appreciate each other’s position
Conclusion
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 Space offers plenty of Business Opportunities  Participation of entrepreneurs, investors and state‐sponsored space
organizations at the International Space Commerce 2013 Summit in
London, to discuss ways of making space exploration profitable, is a
testimony to that.
 It's all about enabling a new industry
 Where we'll be able to attract new talent and new investments, and see
the technology transfer into other industries, and transform them. Space
is an industry of the future, and we need to be ready to deal with it
properly.
 The success of India’s space program should be lauded and we
need to understand that India has significant ground to cover
in order to address major challenges and grab opportunities
We need to focus on mission to realize our vision
Remembering Kalpana Chawla
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 After her first launch, she said, "When you look at the stars and the galaxy, you feel that you are not just from any particular piece of land, but from the solar system.
 She spoke the following words while traveling in the weightlessness of space, "You are just your intelligence"
 “She left India as a student, but she would see the nation of her birth all of it, from hundreds of miles above”‐ George W. Bush
Space belongs to all, nurture it, exploit its potential and use it safely