10 state-of-the-art Isro techs transferred to Indian firms, says IN-SPACe

NEW DELHI: The country’s space regulator-cum-promoter Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre ( IN-SPACe ) on Thursday said it facilitated the transfer of 10 state-of-the-art technologies developed by Isro to six Indian companies.

The tripartite technology transfer agreements, signed among NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), six companies and IN-SPACe at the regulator’s headquarters in Ahmedabad, will give private players the opportunity to access developed technologies available with Isro, enabling them to use space-related technology for commercial applications in space as well as other sectors. The technologies that foster satellite launch, ground station infrastructure and geospatial applications are expected to deepen industry participation, enable indigenisation and reduce dependency on foreign technologies.

Two advanced inertial sensors — Laser Gyroscope and Ceramic Servo Accelerometer — developed by Isro’s inertial systems unit for potential use in satellite launch vehicles have been transferred to Hyderabad-based Zetatek Technologies, which has over 25 years of expertise in inertial navigation system (INS) testing, calibration and QA/QT equipment. Three technologies related to ground station operations — S/X/Ka tri-band dual circular polarised monopulse feed, tri-axis antenna control servo system and Ku/C/L and S Band Cassegrain feed — have been transferred to Avantel and Jisnu Communications, Hyderabad-based companies specialising in end-to-end communications solutions for space and defence platforms. These technologies, currently sourced from foreign vendors, will enable self-reliance in critical ground station infrastructure.

Reacting to the development, IN-SPACe chairman Dr Pawan Goenka said, “Transfer of these technologies marks yet another significant step towards empowering the private sector to harness and commercialise space technologies. Isro has a flourishing repository of R&D in space technologies, and it is time we leverage that to the optimum to strengthen India’s space industrial ecosystem, and in that, industry-led innovation will play a key role.”

Further, two geospatial models developed by Ahmedabad-based Space Applications Centre of Isro for pest forewarning and semi-physical crop yield estimation were transferred to Ahmedabad-based Amnex Info Technologies, to be deployed in agricultural decision-making and crop protection. A compact, multi-parameter, portable bathymetry system developed by Isro’s National Remote Sensing Centre has been transferred to Jalkruti Water Solutions, Ahmedabad, to enable UAV-based integration for water resource monitoring.

Further, Isro’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre’s ceramic-based flame-proof coating technology, which was originally developed for launch vehicle applications, has been acquired by Ramdev Chemicals, Ahmedabad, for wider industrial applications.