The successful Chandrayaan-3 mission by ISRO has sparked interest among several startups aiming to enter the Indian space sector, according to former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan. Tamil Nadu Minister for Industries, TRB Rajaa, highlighted the importance of celebrating the achievements of ISRO and its scientists.
Rajaa and Narayanan participated in the launch of the space technology accelerator "Vaanam," founded by Sameer Bharat Ram and Hariharan Vedamurthy. This accelerator aims to nurture startups in the space sector by providing expertise and seed funding. Ram mentioned that they are currently evaluating six startups to support this year. He also noted that the Indian space economy, currently valued at $13 billion, is expected to reach $44 billion within the next decade.
Nambi Narayanan and actor Madhavan, who portrayed Narayanan in the film 'Rocketry,' have joined the Board of Vaanam Space Tech Accelerator. Narayanan, during a 'Fireside Chat' at the event, pointed out that many of the 189 space technology startups in India are working on projects ISRO completed 50 years ago. He urged these startups to focus on current needs to compete globally.
Vision for an Asian Space Agency Narayanan expressed his desire to establish an Asia Aeronautics Space Agency (AASA), similar to NASA in the United States, involving interested Asian countries like Maldives and Myanmar. Minister Rajaa supported Narayanan's view, emphasizing the need to celebrate and showcase ISRO's achievements globally.
Academic partnerships and education Narayanan stressed the importance of partnerships between academic institutions and space agencies like ISRO to promote space technology education. He cited Princeton University's collaboration with NASA as an example. He suggested incorporating space technology into school curricula and setting up space exploration facilities for students to experience simulated space environments.
Hariharan Vedamurthy, co-founder of Vaanam, acknowledged the challenges faced by the space sector, including budget constraints, technology gaps, and a lack of human resources. Vaanam aims to address these issues by accelerating space tech innovations and helping startups achieve product-market fit quickly. Vedamurthy noted that while many startups are emerging to meet the demands of the space sector, there is still a need for a solid commercialisation framework, which Vaanam intends to provide.