Exploring Opportunities For Indian Downstream Spacetech

In recent years, the domestic space ecosystem has transformed due to investments in the sector, technologies and cooperation and critical actors driving growth and innovation. To further this transformation and achieve self-reliance, the space sector has been liberalised to allow non-government entities to participate in a gamut of core space activities through the Indian Space Policy, 2023.

Construed as a watershed moment for India’s space ambitions, the policy is not only an approach for the future but also a testimony to the advent of India’s NewSpace era.

The advent of NewSpace, primarily the entry of private players and capital into core space activities to complement government efforts through a regulatory regime is expected to shift the priorities and benchmarks for the sector and its prominent actors to the extent that commercial value creation, economy of operations and return on invested capital may evolve to become critical determinants of NewSpace’s success in India.

At the basic level, solving socioeconomic and strategic challenges in the backdrop of commercial considerations requires the enabling of tangible business and governance benefits through the downstream sector. In other words, downstream applications are the most critical revenue- and impact-generating segment of the space economy that can support, sustain and further advancements in other segments.

Although non-space and space-based technological advancements and newer business models are fuelling opportunities through downstream applications, competition from terrestrial alternatives and a suboptimal ability to promote adoption applications are critical challenges for the sector. In fact, without a calibrated approach to mitigate these challenges, future projections of the size and nature of the space economy and its potential may not materialise and remain mere projections.

According to the age-old adage, “What gets measured, gets managed,” measuring the downstream market potential of the Indian market is mission-critical for India’s space ecosystem. 

Sizing the potential of the downstream market for space applications has been a challenging task for several reasons, including the boundary conditions to measure, sectors to study, availability of data and consensus on the approach and methodology to adopt.

A recently published report named “Exploring Opportunities for Indian Downstream Spacetech” attempts to determine the potential market value for the downstream segment along three major satellite application areas: earth observation (EO) or remote sensing, satellite communication (SATCOM) and positioning navigation and timing (PNT).

The report recognises that space has been and will continue to be a dual-purpose sector combining commercial possibilities with implications for national security and strategy. With technological advancements, securing space assets and ensuring sustained access to space are new additions to the traditional dimensions of leveraging space for national security, truly making space the fourth warfare domain in addition to land, air and sea.

Nations around the world have recognised the strategic and economic importance of space. Therefore, the sector has evolved from the exclusive purview of governments to a dynamic, synergistic collaboration between public and private entities.

Over the past two decades, there has been a new movement towards innovative start-ups, novel business models and increased accessibility and utilisation of space. Consequently, globally, the space industry is experiencing a renaissance with innovative technologies, cross-border collaboration and new business models reshaping how we explore, utilise and benefit from space.

This shift is driven by technological advancements such as reusable technologies, miniaturisation of avionics and growing demand for satellite services, leading to the deployment of large numbers of small satellites, transforming how we communicate, navigate and gather information from space. Moreover, this facilitates commercial returns from space, allowing entry of commercial players into the space industry.