Private Entities Get Orbital Slot To Run Communication Satellite
IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Goenka said the initiative reflects the government’s commitment to empowering talented Indian non-government entities.
India’s space regulator on Wednesday announced an opportunity for private sector companies to secure an orbital slot for building and operating a communications satellite. This satellite will offer services across sectors, including telephone, television, radio, and internet.
The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) released an Announcement of Opportunity, inviting Non-Government Entities to utilize Indian Orbital Resources.
IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Goenka said this initiative reflects the government’s commitment to empowering talented Indian NGEs with the necessary resources and support. This move is intended to bolster their success and advance India’s leadership in the global space economy.
The announcement of opportunity aims to identify an applicant with Indian management and control and having the requisite technical and financial capabilities to own, establish and operate a Geostationary Orbit satellite for providing communication services.
"This Announcement of Opportunity is a game-changing opportunity for NGEs to participate in the global space economy and establish a world-class communication satellite system," Goenka said. The last date for submission of applications is Sept. 15, 2024.
Recently, the INSPACe also asked the private entities to come forward to build and manage a space-based earth observation system under a Public-Private Partnership model.
The proposal encompasses NGEs to design, build and establish a constellation of satellites in low-earth orbit having a combination of sensors, including panchromatic, multispectral, hyperspectral and microwave.
It will also involve NGEs launching the satellites onboard Indian launch vehicles, monitoring and controlling the spacecraft health, and payload data download by establishing and operating their own ground stations or through Ground Stations as a Service (GSaaS) provider.
The IN-SPACe has also granted authorization to Azista BST Aerospace Pvt., Hyderabad, for establishing and operating a ground station in ultra-high frequency bands.
With this, Azista BST Aerospace will support its own satellites and provide Ground Station as a Service for telemetry, tracking and command operations and data reception from remote sensing satellites to both Indian and international customers.
(With inputs from PTI)
