On 26th June 2024, NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has singed a Launch Service Agreement with the Space Machines Company, an Australian-Indian in-space servicing firm, to launch second Optimus spacecraft, weighing 450kg, the largest Australian-designed and built spacecraft so far.
Note:
i.The 2nd Optimus spacecraft will be launched aboard NSIL’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) in 2026.
ii.This Mission, named Space MAITRI (Mission for Australia-India’s Technology, Research and Innovation) marks the significant milestone in the strategic partnership between Australia and India in the space domain.
Key People: The signing of the launch service agreement was announced by Rajat Kulshrestha, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-Founder of Space Machines Company, and Radhakrishnan Durairaj, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of NSIL during the inaugural of 3rd India Space Congress (ISC 2024) held in Delhi.
About Space MAITRI Mission:
i.Space MAITRI Mission aims to address the problem of increasing levels of debris in Space around the Earth, which poses great threat to both future space ventures and astronaut safety and also aims to revolutionize in-space services, ensuring the long-term sustainability of space activities.
ii.In April 2024, Space Machines Company announced that Government of Australia will provide financial assistance of AUSD 8.5 million through its International Space Investment India Projects (ISI India Projects) program.
iii.The mission involves collaboration with various Indian and Australian companies such as: Telangana (Hyderabad-based)Ananth Technologies Limited (ATL), Digantara, an Indian Aerospace company, The University of Technology Sydney, The University of Sydney, the Australian Strategic Policy Insitute (ASPI).
About SSLV:
i.It is the 6th launch vehicle designed and developed by ISRO with an estimated budget of Rs 56 crore.
ii.It is a 34 meter (m) tall, 2m diameter vehicle which weighs about 120 tonnes and can launch satellites of up to 500 kg to LEO on a “launch-on-demand” basis.
NSIL signed USD 18 million deal with Australian Government:
The Government of Australia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth USD 18 million with NSIL to enable the launch of Australian satellites into orbit from Indian soil
About the Partnership
i.Under this MoU, Space Machines will launch a satellite inspection and observation payload aboard ISRO’s SSLV in 2026..
ii.The parnership involve stakeholders in India’s private space economy including domestic space-engineering firm Ananth Technologies, which has supplied components and engineering services to ISRO.
About ISC 2024:
The 3rd edition of annual ISC was organised by SatCom Industry Association (SIA)-India from 26th to 28th June 2024 in New Delhi, Delhi.
- Theme of ISC 2024: “Space Innovation: Bridging Boundaries and Transforming Tomorrow”.
- The event saw the participation of more than 300 international space organisations and delegates from 30 countries.
Key People: The event was attended by key dignitaries such as: Philip Green OAM, High Commissioner of Australia to India, Pawan Kumar Goenka, Chariman, Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe), Sreedhara Panicker Somanath, Chairman, ISRO, among others.
About New Space India Limited (NSIL):
It is Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) which works under the administrative control of Department of Space (DoS).
Chairman and Managing Director– Radhakrishnan Durairaj
Headquarters- Bengaluru, Karnataka
Established- 2019
