Pawan Goenka, chairman of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), declared on Sunday that India is targeting an ambitious 50 space launches per year by 2030. He emphasized that this monumental goal cannot be achieved by a single organization alone, necessitating substantial private sector participation.
Goenka's remarks follow a letter from nine employee associations at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to chairman V Narayanan. The associations sought clarification regarding the proposed transfer of some of ISRO's manufacturing and operational functions to private companies, raising questions about the agency's future role and implications for its workforce and future recruitment.
Writing on X (formerly Twitter), Goenka highlighted India's dual objectives when it opened its space sector five years ago: empowering ISRO to explore new frontiers and enabling private companies to scale up. He noted that both objectives are now materializing, citing ISRO's recent EOS-05 achievement and the growth from a handful to over 450 space startups, with Indian private industry already achieving orbital rocket flights.
ISRO's Role: Research vs. Manufacturing
The IN-SPACe chairman articulated a clear division of labor: ISRO's core mission will continue to be pushing the boundaries of technological research and development. In contrast, private companies are expected to translate that progress into large-scale manufacturing, producing more rockets, satellites, and expanding launch capacity.
The ISRO employee associations, however, expressed reservations. Their letter, dated September 4, stressed that while private participation in defined commercial activities is acceptable, a policy that reduces ISRO to a mere research and development 'boutique' while critical launch vehicle production and infrastructure operations move into private hands cannot be accepted without thorough debate.
Privatization of Key Space Assets
Goenka had previously elaborated on the privatization strategy at a Business Today event. He stated that the production of India's workhorse rockets, the PSLV and LVM3, would be privatized, with public sector undertakings (PSUs) excluded from this particular initiative. He also indicated that operations at new launch centers and the manufacturing of certain satellites would be handed over to the private sector.
Ultimately, Goenka envisions ISRO focusing on specialized satellites for scientific research and unique orbits, rather than day-to-day satellite production or launch vehicle manufacturing, which would become the domain of the private sector or PSUs, as seen with the SSLV.