Sun, Nov 27, 2022 page12

• Indian rocket firm seeks to cut satellite costs

  • By Nivedita Bhattacharjee / Reuters, BENGALURU, India
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  The start-up behind India’s first private space launch plans to put a satellite into orbit next year, and expects to be able to do so at half of the cost of established launch companies, the founders of Skyroot Aerospace said.

  The Hyderabad-based company, backed by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC, said the US$68 million it has raised would fund its next two launches, adding that it has been in contact with more than 400 potential customers.

  Thousands of small satellite launches are planned in coming years as companies build out networks to deliver broadband services such as SpaceX’s Starlink and to power applications like tracking supply chains or monitoring offshore oil rigs.

  

  The Vikram-S, India’s first privately developed rocket, by Skyroot Aerospace, blasts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India, on Nov. 18.

  Photo: EPA-EFE

  Skyroot faces established and up-and-coming rocket launch rivals that also promise to bring down costs. In China, start-up Galactic Energy put five satellites into orbit last week in its fourth successful launch.

  In Japan, Space One, backed by Canon Electronics and IHI Corp, plans to launch 20 small rockets per year by the middle of the decade.

  Skyroot, which launched a test rocket last week, expects to cut the cost of a launch by 50 percent compared with current pricing for established competitors such as Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit and California-based Rocket Lab USA Inc.

  Pawan Chandana, one of Skyroot’s two cofounders, said he expected a surge in demand for the company’s launch services if it proves itself with launches set for next year.

  “Most of these customers have been building constellations and will be launching them in the next five years,” he said.

  A push by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration to increase India’s share of the global space launch market from just 1 percent has given investors confidence that Skyroot and other start-ups have government backing for their efforts, Skyroot said.

  “Three or four months back when we were talking to investors, one of the biggest questions they asked was if the government was supporting us,” Skyroot cofounder Bharath Daka said.

  India opened the door to private space companies in 2020 with a regulatory overhaul and a new agency to boost private-sector launches.

  Before that, companies could only act as contractors to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), a government space agency with a reputation of its own for frugal engineering. The country’s Mars mission in 2014 cost only US$74 million, less than the budget of the Hollywood space movie Gravity.

  Building on India’s record for cost efficiency would be key, Chandana said.

  Skyroot, founded in 2018 when Chandana and Daka quit jobs at ISRO, has set a target to develop rockets for one-fifth of the current industry costs.

  The Skyroot rocket that reached 89.5km altitude in last week’s test launch used carbon-fiber components and 3D-printed parts, including the thrusters.

  That boosted efficiency by 30 percent, cutting weight and procurement costs, although it meant Skryoot engineers had to write the machine code for vendors who fabricated the rocket because few had experience working with carbon fiber, the company said.

  With 3D printing, Skyroot believes it can build a new rocket in just two days as it works towards reusable rockets, a technology pioneered by SpaceX.

  Chandana and Daka believe the per-kilogram launch cost for a satellite can be brought down to nearly US$10, from thousands of dollars currently, a stretch target that could upend the economics of space commerce and one that draws inspiration from their idol: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

  “SpaceX is a symbol of great innovation and great market validation,” Chandana said, adding that they have not had the chance to speak to Musk.

  “Right now, we think he’s probably busy running Twitter,” he said.
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