Part 3 of 3 Parts (Please read Parts 1 and 2 first)
Dhruva Space is one of two private space companies authorized by InSpace. They said that they started in 2012 with the goal to privatize space activity in India. Sanjay Nekkanti is the CEO of Dhruva. He said, “The market was not very receptive to space entrepreneurs trying to build a full solution, therefore there was not much access to capital.”
Much of India’s advancement in the space race used to be either in academia or government, Nekkanti added. Dhruva designs space missions and builds space infrastructure for India and International clients. It got a big boost in 2020. In a commercial ecosystem where vendors that replicate and build components for space missions have been thriving for decades, companies like Dhruva now have sufficient capital to build indigenous products and shore up intellectual property. For the next two quarters, Dhruva wants to not just take technological leaps, but they also want to enable global customers to launch their own satellites on their deployers.
Chaitanya Dora Surapureddy is CFO of Dhruva. He said, “India’s new space economy is on the edge of lift-off and I foresee a striking new era of tech investment. In fact, it’s already happening.”
Kumar said that India is still in the process of becoming the go-to place for space technology and manufacturing for the global space market. He said, “While rich countries will be able to leapfrog given the capital and purchasing power, this might not be possible for others, therefore giving a chance to countries like India to supply.” He added that more government funding is needed for space diplomacy and for India to become a bigger player.
The next big thing in India’s business of space is the defense sector. Last year, the Indian Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat said that space is critical to operations both in peace and war. He added that the privatization of space will be critical for that. This year, Digantara set up India’s first private space situational awareness observatory on the foothill of the Himalayas. This new center monitors satellites in orbit. Sharma said, “This will bring indigenous capabilities to the nation for both military and civilian applications.”
India’s private space empire may have started fifty years after the world’s first Moon landing. However, many in the space industry feel that India’s private companies are not just here to win the space race. Aside from taking India’s dreams to outer space, several space technology companies are working to bridge the gap between space technology and addressing problems that are unique to the Indian subcontinent.
An new Indian company called Numer8 predicts climate change pattern changes to assist fishermen. Vassar Labs in another startup that uses satellite imagery to advise government on climate change’s impact on India’s water resources. Skylo is a third startup that developed agricultural sensors that measure and deploy soil nutrients and water needs in India. Seventy percent of rural households in India depend on agriculture.
Prasad said, “I don't believe India is in a space race with anyone. India will benefit from the convergence of infrastructure, experience, talent, capital, and the openness of the global market to engage with the country, to build space products to benefit not just businesses and government, but also citizens.”