New Delhi: Bolstered by growing private sector participation, India is gearing up to scale its space operations significantly. Pawan K Goenka, Chairman of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), announced that India has set an ambitious target of executing 50 space launches annually by the year 2030.
Reflecting on the space sector’s journey over the last five years, Goenka stated that India opened its space sector to private enterprises with two primary objectives: to enable the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to reach new heights and to empower the private industry to operate at a larger scale.
According to Goenka, the positive outcomes of these dual objectives are now clearly visible. Calling the recent EOS-05 mission a major achievement for ISRO, he noted that this is merely the beginning. He highlighted a massive shift in the country’s space ecosystem, pointing out that while India had only a handful of space startups five years ago, the number has now surged to over 450. Furthermore, Indian private companies have successfully acquired the capability to launch rockets into orbit.
In a post on the social media platform X, Goenka remarked that the biggest challenge currently facing India is to scale up the space sector considerably. Emphasizing the 50-launch annual target by 2030, he stressed that a single entity cannot achieve such a massive goal alone; it requires robust collaboration between the government and private industry.
Outlining the future strategy, Goenka explained that ISRO will continue to push the boundaries of possibilities through research and the development of cutting-edge technologies. Meanwhile, the private sector will need to transform these innovations into large-scale manufacturing and launch capabilities. He added that to enhance its capacity, India must develop more rockets, manufacture more satellites, expand launch infrastructure, and rapidly adopt new technologies.
Through this collaborative partnership, India aims to build a comprehensive space ecosystem. The objective is not only to meet domestic requirements but also to establish India as a premier global hub for space services—manufacturing in India, launching from India, and providing space services to the world.