NewSpace India

A conversation about how Earth Observation is evolving in India and how the future can shape.

Apurwa talks about the vision behind SpaceFields and their progress so far with the solid propulsion technologies they are innovating with.

Gunjan talks about how Tathya has been maturing as a young company and his understanding of the maturing of geospatial SaaS ecosystem of India.

Gurbir talks about first of its kind: An atlas of all major sites where space rockets have been launched since the World’s first Sputnik in 1957.

Hailing from Pallapatti, a small village in Karur, Tamil Nadu, Rifath talks about how his dreams of going to orbit became a reality.

Dr. Srimathy talks about her journey of going from being a homemaker to a space-community-maker.

Space Machines Company recently launched their first office outside of Australia in Bangalore. Ideally located close to ISRO’s test facility - ISITE, this new headquarters where a growing team of 10 staff is leading the Research & Development Department of the company. Rajat talks about their plans India and they plan to grow SMC in the coming years.

SatSure believes that access to information should be at the crossroads of lower service time and fair pricing that closes the business case it is addressing. Arpan talks about how through KaleidEO, India would have its first hi-res optical payload fleet that would bridge the demand-supply gap.

Elena’s leader and founder Lt Col V S Velan, an Indian Army Veteran is driven by a deep purpose of seeing a NavIC enabled India. Velan has been working in GNSS domain from 1998. He has been associated in NavIC / IRNSS, since its inception in June 2008.

Enrico Palermo is the Head of the Australian Space Agency has brought a 40 member delegation to India as a part of the visit to the Bangalore Space Expo. Enrico talks about the various aspects of Indo-Australian collaboration in space.

Yagnaswami Sundara Rajan or Y. S. Rajan (born 10 April 1943) is an Indian professor, scientist and administrator. He is Honorary Distinguished Professor in Indian Space Research Organisation. He has made major contributions to various aspects of management of science, technology and innovation. In 2012, he was awarded with Padma Shri for his contributions in science and engineering. He is one of the well known scientists who has closely worked with Abdul Kalam, former President of India.

Dr Mukund Rao has served ISRO in shaping the Indian Remote Sensing and National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS) programme and has led development of number of EO/GIS applications for national developmental sectors.

Prof. Dr. V. Balakista Reddy was one the first voices in India to ask for national space legislation.

Vasudevan Gnana Gandhi is the pioneer of cryogenic rocket science in India. His contributions are reported behind the development of booster liquid stages of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle and the uprating of VIKAS engine.

George has been the guiding force in the design and development of all the earth observation cameras on board Indian Remote Sensing Satellite and INSAT.

Sridhara Murthi was responsible for corporate level policies for technology transfer & promotion of industry cooperation. He guided over 200 Tech transfer projects from ISRO to the industry.

Dr V K Dadhwal is known for his contribution to the development of remote sensing applications in agriculture, including crop forecasting and irrigation management.

Chandra spent more than 20 years working at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). His work at ISRO covered all parts of the programme - satellite, rockets as well as the applications of space technology especially remote sensing.

Dr. V.S. Hegde has made contributions to Aerial Remote Sensing, Earth Observation, Remote Sensing & Satellite Communication Applications, Disaster Mitigation, Societal Applications, International Cooperation and Space Commerce.

Arup pioneered the introduction of Geomatics in ISRO and conducted advanced research and development in the convergence of Geomatics, Information Technology and Communications Technology in space applications.

Sudarshan, recruit of Prof Sarabhai in the 1970 talks about his experiences of indigenous development of 100 critical technologies by ISRO to realise space missions.

Harshan and Jacob talk about how they mach33.aero is building a PPP model to help startups to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in defence, aersopace and spacetech.

Sanjay talks about his experience of working towards facilitating and accelerating the growth of the geospatial industry worldwide and raising awareness of the industry‘s value proposition and contribution to world’s economy and society.

Anil talks about SIA-India's work in representing satellite operators, satellite systems, launch vehicles and ground and terminal equipment manufacturers as well as application solutions providers to the Government, Regulators, Policymakers, and domestic and international standards bodies.

Gunjan talks about how Tathya is delivering real-time insights on key economic indicators using satellite imagery for hot metal production, iron ore inventory and other metal commodities.

Tushar talks about how Manastu was formed to replace old, low-performing, carcinogenic, and highly toxic hydrazine-based propulsion systems with high performance, non-carcinogenic, less toxic alternatives.

Lucie talks about her experiences from moving from a traditional space agency setting to supporting young companies trying to conduct NewSpace activities in Europe. We talk about parallels with India and the differences in these ecosystems.

Farhan talks about the story behind ExseedSat and his experiences of working within the space industry to launch India's first privately built satellite.

Aazzah talks about her experience of participating in the UNispace Nanosatellite Assembly & Training (UNNATI), a program by ISRO which intends to provide a hands on training program for engineers from developing country on building nanosatellites.

Nirupesh, CEO of the Bangalore Watch Company shares their story of how they created the 'Apogee' series of watches to pay tribute to the Indian space program and its achievements.

Will Henry, producer of the The High Frontier: The Untold Story of Gerard K. O’Neill, talks about the life and work of Prof. Gerard K. O’Neill which include particle accelerators, space settlements and founded the Space Studies Institute.

Jason talks about mistakes startup entrepreneurs are making in space industry and how to be aware of building solutions for real problems that scale.

Space-tech solutions have not traditionally been brought under the SaaS umbrella. SkySERVE is bringing edge computing service for satellites through the platform they are building to commoditising satellites & space assets.

Sanat talks about his journey of creating space system laboratory IIIT D to conduct research on space vehicle guidance, navigation and control, orbit determination, GNSS-based navigation, non-linear dynamics and estimation algorithms.

Suyash talks about the journey of starting up GalaxEye Space out of the IIT Madras campus to build the future of Earth Observation.

Ravi talks about how he sees the opportunity landscape for supporting early stage space startups in India with venture capital.

Anirudh talks about Digantara's journey as the first Indian private company with a mission to secure long-term spaceflight safety by developing space debris tracking and monitoring services.

Dr. Madhavan Ranjeevan shares about how Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) provides the nation with best possible services in forecasting the monsoons and other weather/climate parameters, ocean state, earthquakes, tsunamis and other phenomena related to earth systems through well integrated programmes.

Kwaku talks about what are the current trends in space activities in Africa, the status of industry/applications development and in what areas can India partner with African countries.

Abhi who is leading Starburst's efforts to support Indian space entrepreneurs to grow and mature talks about their roadmap and support system which they plan to build locally in India.

Vasagam talks about his career in ISRO that started in 1965 to then leading India's first experimental geostationary satellite called Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment (APPLE).

Ambassador Rakesh Sood talks about his career and experiences as an Indian diplomat who handled outer space related issues. We also talk about the more recent issues of integrating space capabilities as a part of foreign policy interests.

Surendra Vaidya talks about Godrej's experience of taking technology that came from working with ISRO to then use it in solving problems in other sectors.

Prof. Kazuto Suzuki shares insights on how Japanese space industry landscape has been developed since its inception and the changes that have occurred to support the emergence of NewSpace in the last decade.

Parth talks about how Skylo Technologies satellite based IoT network offers Wireless connectivity to address various problems in India for farmers, fishermen and their experience so far.

Bengaluru-based spacetech startup Astrogate Labs that builds core technologies in optical/laser communication terminals. Nitish talks about their journey so far.

Former ISRO/DOS Chairman/Secretary AS Kiran Kumar talks about various issues important issues that provide a perspective coming from within the institution that we all so love and cherish.

Dr. Ranganath Navalgund talks of developments in ISRO through his career where he started as a physicist in 1977 and pioneered the development of several space-based applications for end-user communities in India.

As an economist, Pierre Lionnet talks about his vantage point of space activities, government involvement, newspace and industry.

Rajaram Nagappa talks about how solid propellants were developed in India from the time of the sounding rockets to the larger SLV/PSLV rockets.

Sudarshan, a recruit of Prof Sarabhai in the 1970 talks about his experience of being the Chairman of the ISRO technology transfer committee and helped develop the first 100 industries to collaborate with ISRO.

Sethu (CEO of ReOrbit) talks about his perspectives on why he chose Finland as a home to his startup and reflects on what can make the ecosystem in India more welcoming to have more and more Indian entrepreneurs start their space ventures out of India.

Deganit talks about how Israel established the space programme and matured to having a strong industry today. We explore how India and Israel share several commonalities when it comes to space capabilities, missions and even challenges for the future.

Surendra Vaidya (Executive Vice President & Business Head, Godrej Aerospace) talks about how Godrej moved from being a consumer product manufacturer into supporting the ISRO in the space program to eventually realising over 150 engines contributing to over dozens of reliable launches.

Gareeb Scientist who produces videos on Indian space science and technology progress and explains them to the general public talks about his journey so far. We address challenges specific to covering ISRO's developments and getting access to material that can further help spread the fabulous efforts of ISRO through content creators.

Chirag talks about Walchandnagar Industries association with ISRO started in 1973 with manufacturing of motor cases for SLV-3 to supporting startups from India to building rockets.

Emiliano talks about his experiences of building Satellogic, one of the biggest NewSpace Earth Observation (EO) startups in the world which is trying to democratize access to space-based services, by fostering new markets of innovative applications by making data 1,000 times cheaper than traditional EO companies

Jayant talks about how astronomy education and research can be broadened in India based on his 20 years of experience of being at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.

Aravind talks about how to get into the space industry, what are the kind of jobs available, what are the restrictions and the nature of skillsets needed to enter the industry.

Sudheer, Associate Director of Capacity Building Programme Office (CBPO) responsible for new initiatives in formulating policies, procedures & guidelines in the following areas and carry out objective analysis to ensure the implementation of the same by facilitating ISRO Centres talks about its role in helping Indian industry.

Raji talks about how space security has evolved in India and provides a detailed overview of many of the issues such as weaponisation, militarisation, ASATs, space situational awareness from an Indian perspective.

Space historian Asif Siddiqi talks about the early days of India's space activities, the role of Sarabhai and the shares some intricate insights about the foundations of the Indian space program.

Bellatrix CEO Rohan talks about how their ideas for space propulsion kicked off and took shape over time. The episode was recorded with the help of Unbounded (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNy5vmqh_YtMyO5rEdjLeaw) at the Kerala SpacePark Conclave in Feb 2020.

Srinath Ravichandran, CEO of Agnikul Cosmos talks about how the startup took shape and the progress so far.

Jatan talks about the scope of space science missions in India and how they can be broadened in the future. We discuss deeply about Mangalyaan, its outcomes and potential lessons for the future.

There are a lot of parallels in terms of how startups in space have been emerging between India and Australia. However, policymakers in Australia have been acting more quickly to support them. In this episode, Jason talks about the early days of NewSpace in Australia and how it has matured in the last few years.

Want to build rockets/satellites in India? Here is a conversation where we discuss most policy/legal issues that surround the ability of entrepreneurs to be able to execute in India. Ashok provides great insights on what are the underlying problems that need to be solved for startups to be successful.

Lt. Gen. (Retd) Prakash Menon provides an overview of the utility of space capabilities by the Indian armed forces. We discuss the historical context and connect it to the present day requirements. The challenges of involving the local industry to support the space-based requirements of the Indian armed forces presented eloquently by Gen. Menon.

Irina Liu and Bhavya Lal who are researchers at the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI) provide insights from their study of China's commercial space sector which used original documents and first-hand Chinese-language interviews with Chinese companies and China’s industry experts.

Michael Mealling, General Partner at Starbridge VC, a space focussed venture capital fund based in the US, talks about his perspective of the Indian space industry and the emerging NewSpace startups in India.

Speciale Invest is an early stage investor focusing on Tech-driven/Deep-tech ventures. They've invested at seed stage in Agnikul Cosmos, Astrogate Labs and Kawa Space. Vishesh, is the Managing Partner of Speciale Invest. He talks about their fund, their investees in NewSpace India startups. He also gives great tips for some of the entrepreneurs looking for seed stage funding.

A new book provides a detailed account of the life and work of Stephen H Smith. During 1934 and 1944 in Calcutta, he worked alone and unsupported on developing rocket transport. In 1935, he was the first to demonstrate the successful transport by a rocket of livestock, food and medicine. The book charts the story of Stephen H Smith, described by a contemporary as “the greatest one-man campaign for rocketry”. He dedicated his life working alone in northeast India to develop a new revolutionary means of transport using rocket power.

What goes into building a cubesat program at a university? What are the difference between university teams trying to build satellites in India against US? How can we improve the overall ecosystems in academia to build more student missions in India? Here are some great insights from Sharan.

Will space be a theatre for warfare? What message did India send out by demonstrating the ability to hit a satellite in orbit? How can India showcase leadership in space security and sustainability so that space as a domain can be used for peaceful purposes? Daniel Porras provides great insights based on his extensive experience in political and legal issues surrounding space security.

The Takshashila Institution has proposed a Space Policy proposal looks at decoupling the policy, regulatory, and service delivery roles of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to create a level playing field for new entrants. Utkash talks about SRAI and other major aspects of the Takshashila Policy Proposal.

Numer8 - a data analytics company that uses geospatial data to address problems like disaster management, coastal community monitoring, infrastructure monitoring, wildlife, and biodiversity protection. It helps businesses and governments to take a data-centric approach to solve problems. Its latest product, Ofish is helping the fishing communities to tackle changes to the fishing habitat and come home with a better catch. Ofish helps governments track illegal fishing and monitor fishing port operations from a single dynamic dashboard.

Dr. Ranjana Kaul argues for India having to create a formal space policy before a space law is legislated. She provides insights on how having a space policy before a space law will help the NewSpace community.

Have you ever wondered why we don't have space-themed science fiction movies in India? Is it that we don't have an author base for it, or is it that we don't have producers intent to invest in them or is the audience itself not interested in it? In this episode of the NewSpace India podcast, we explore one such attempt to creating a platform for space-themed science fiction movies in India

Kawa Space plans to operate most advanced earth observation satellite constellations for their customers in financial services, government, strategic risk management and agriculture. Here is Kris Nair (CEO of Kawa Space) talking about their roadmap ahead.

Berlin Space Technologies and Azista Aerospace based in Germany and India respectively have entered into a joint venture to create a satellite production factory in Ahmedabad. Tom and Sunil talk about the thesis behind their partnership and the future they see for the JV.

Commercial satcom in India grew from VSAT to broadcasting to now exciting applications such as broadband, backhaul, etc. In this episode, Ramesh and Govind help understand the evolution of the entire commercial satcom sector in India for the past 30 years.

Siddharth talks about the foundations of astrobiology, the unique facets which India can contribute to the development of the field and the current ongoing efforts to support the development of the field in India.

Covering the Indian space programme as a science communicator or as a journalist often means to deal with limited information being available to tell a story to the public. In this episode, Vasudevan Mukunth talks about the challenges of dealing with science communication while dealing with information put out by ISRO on its activities and how it affects the quality of journalism while covering space as a sector in India.

India is one of the pioneers of satellite remote sensing with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) developing some of the best remote sensing satellites in the world. In this episode of the NewSpace India podcast, Arup Dasgupta speaks about his experiences in executing some of ISRO's remote sensing missions and provides a perspective on the current challenges that holds back the full utilisation of remote sensing applications in India.

There is very little understanding of the Chinese space capabilities in India. Prof. Chandra who has been one of the experts on space-related activities has studied Chinese space activities and its spread in recent years. He an excellent insight into the origins of the Chinese space program (in contrast with the Indian one) and its current capacity and the capabilities. This episode sets a foundation for understanding the emergence of NewSpace in China.