Country Focus
India: An odyssey to winning the space race As it boosts its home-grown space technology capabilities, India has become the fourth country in the world to have launched a rocket to the moon, says Angelica Buan. All this bodes well for the country and preceding aerospace sectors, notwithstanding criticisms from home and abroad on money being channelled to sources other than aid to assist more than 270 million of its people who live below the poverty line.
28
AUGUST 2019
I
ndia, a dark horse in the first world country-dominated space race may soon disrupt the hierarchy. It recently made headlines when it launched the Chandrayaan 2 lunar mission from Sriharikota, showcasing homegrown technologies, from the rocket and the orbiter to the lander (Vikram) and the robotic solarpowered rover (Pragyan). The US$1 billion-project is the first space mission to conduct a soft landing, on the Moon’s South Polar Region, where a India's quest to conquer space larger section of its surface stays in the shadow, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). In 2008, its predecessor had found evidence of water as well as detected magnesium, aluminium and silicon on the surface. It is expected to make a soft landing in September, and if successful, will make India the fourth country to conquer the moon.
Vast opportunities in global space industry The global interest in space economy is growing. From Apollo 11 to Tesla’s Space X missions, space exploration underscores global aspiration for a burgeoning space economy. Based on US-headquartered Space Foundation’s 2019 report, the global space economy grew 8.1 % in 2018 to nearly US$415 billion. Launches in 2018 also jumped 46% compared to the number of launches in the 1990s. According to a Research and Markets report, the demand for nanosatellites and reusable launch vehicle systems is anticipated to be driven by huge investments made by countries like US, China and Russia in the development of next generation satellite systems; as well as the large-scale procurement of such systems by countries like Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea, and India. The global space industry has offered golden opportunities for a number of sectors, including IT hardware, telecommunications and beyond the aerospace and defence, according to data published by US financial services company Morgan Stanley, which also projected the global space industry to cross US$1 trillion by 2040. Expanding space footprint Ranked the 11th largest economy in the world in 2013, India aims to leapfrog to the sixth spot in 2020 by honing in on globally competitive industries. Under the Government’s Make in India policy, the space industry is getting a boost, building on the country’s technological capabilities. According to India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India ranks third among the most attractive investment destinations for technology transactions in the world – for example, in the establishments and operations of satellites, up to 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is allowed. India is also fifth among top countries in the field of space exploration. It has already acquired expertise in constructing lunar probes, satellites and other space equipment. As well, it has shuttled foreign satellites into space, and has reached and orbited Mars in 2017 with the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), ISRO’s first interplanetary Martian mission.