

Small satellite vehicle to take 2 years to be ready for commercial launches
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The first small rockets ferrying satellites on Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) design and technology will take at least two more years to reach the launch pad, even as work to find the ideal candidate for the job reaches its final stage.
Twenty-three companies had applied to build Isro's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), after the organization in 2023 decided to bring in the private sector to fuel the growth of the space sector. Of these, three were shortlisted.
According to Pawan Kumar Goenka, chairman of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (In-Space), the country's nodal space agency, the government is “likely to finalize the private player for manufacturing SSLV by May this year." Also read | Isro’s caution shows why space docking is crucial for India's future missions While Goenka did not name any of the three companies, a senior official aware of the matter said state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Bharat Dynamics Ltd are two of the three companies shortlisted for commercializing the small rocket launcher. “We are still getting some information from the companies and the evaluation of applications will start by the end of this month," Goenka said on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi.
The decision to transfer the technology to the private sector was part of the Centre’s strategy to increase the involvement of companies in the space sector. In 2023-end, Goenka, through his decadal vision for India’s space sector, projected it to be worth $44 billion by 2033.
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