Narayan Prasad

PMO should create a ‘End-users and Industry Advisory Group’ that can interface with the Space Commission to consider the requirements of end-users (civil & strategic) to help economically integrate space into the country’s overall GDP. 

This new ESPI Report provides a comprehensive investigation of the New Space dynamics unfolding in major Asian countries (Japan, China, India, South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia). The report offers both a macroscopic analysis of the commercial space ecosystems in these countries and an assessment of the national policies and tools to steer the development of a robust commercial space sector.

Dassault Systèmes, in partnership with the global space marketplace satsearch, has conducted a unique trade study of 281 Indian space sector suppliers, focussing on their identity, location, and digital capabilities.

IN-SPACe’s outlook for now appears to be that of a ‘regulator’ functioning as an independent body under the Department of Space. So as such, there are some important steps that the Government of India needs consider to ensure IN-SPACe stays relevant and efficient.

India makes a great place for building a space business as a startup. But several local startups are still searching for foreign shores.

Right now, private players can only boast of delivering low-cost products and services to ISRO, but it needs to widen its customer base and develop more design capabilities.

Opening ISRO to Private Players: What does it mean for Startups? How would the liberalization of space programs and the availability of data help entrepreneurs? What would be the impact of this drastic change in policy?

The Modi government's latest reform, of opening up access for private players to ISRO's infrastructure, puts India on the right path to improve economic activity in the sector.

Disasters lead to breakdown of established Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure. ICT breakdown obstructs the channel to gather real-time last mile information directly from the disaster-stricken communities and thereby hampers the agility of humanitarian supply chains. This creates a complex, chaotic, uncertain, and restrictive environment for humanitarian relief operations, which struggles for credible information to prioritize and deliver effective relief services. In… Mehr anzeigen

Disasters lead to breakdown of established Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure. ICT breakdown obstructs the channel to gather real-time last mile information directly from the disaster-stricken communities and thereby hampers the agility of humanitarian supply chains. This creates a complex, chaotic, uncertain, and restrictive environment for humanitarian relief operations, which struggles for credible information to prioritize and deliver effective relief services. In this paper, we discuss how satellite big data analytics built over real-time weather information, geospatial data and deployed over a cloud-computing platform aided in achieving improved coordination and collaboration between rescue teams for humanitarian relief efforts in the case of 2018 Kerala floods. The analytics platform made available to the stakeholders involved in the rescue operations led to timely logistical planning and execution of rescue missions. The developed platform improved the accuracy of information between the distressed community and the stakeholders involved and thereby increased the agility of humanitarian logistics and relief supply chains. This research proves the utility of fusing data sources that are normally sitting as islands of information using big data analytics to prioritize humanitarian relief operations.

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Several space start-ups in India are looking to build products & services independent of ISRO. This is the stage where they need certainty in regulation.

Unprecedented acceleration and unfolding diversification of India’s space activities are bound to generate important consequences, not only internally but also internationally. On this latter side, these developments will most likely position India as an indispensable pillar in the future space governance as well as a prominent actor in the future global space economy. Surely Europe cannot afford to ignore a future behemoth…

Satellites and predictive analytics solutions enable farmers to cultivate a better digital ecosystem around their businesses, and essentially, grow their income.

Unfortunately, these markets are at an arm’s length to most traditional players, which prefer to invest and wait on top-down engagement models. They usually have no patience for a bottom-up approach of working with the players at the foundation of the pyramid to formulate novel strategies to capture value in these niche markets. Is this an opportunity that NewSpace can use to outmaneuver traditional space players?

Space is not only for engineers and scientists. The conversation needs to include researchers in the social and political sciences as well for India’s space economy to mature.

Large parts of the global NewSpace community seems to fail to appreciate “glocalization” — the necessary social and cultural capital for creating successful businesses that can design last-mile solutions that resonate with their local administrative and institutional frameworks. Therefore, it is in the interest of both NewSpace ventures and institutional investors to work with (if not invest) with local entrepreneurs and evangelists in regions such as India or Africa or Latin America to… Mehr anzeigen

Large parts of the global NewSpace community seems to fail to appreciate “glocalization” — the necessary social and cultural capital for creating successful businesses that can design last-mile solutions that resonate with their local administrative and institutional frameworks. Therefore, it is in the interest of both NewSpace ventures and institutional investors to work with (if not invest) with local entrepreneurs and evangelists in regions such as India or Africa or Latin America to understand different adoption chains, so that these new markets can indeed be catalyzed today toward fruition tomorrow. Weniger anzeigen

Contrary to what mainstream media opinion suggests, there no billionaires in the space sector today – only billionaires investing in space hoping to see returns someday.

ISRO is a homegrown Indian success story often literally pushing against the edges of our universe, inspiring millions of people. But there’s room for it to do more.

Despite the potential, India’s share of the global $400 billion space market is less than 0.01%. How can we accelerate the growth of a much-needed space start-up ecosystem?

The Department of Space (DoS), Government of India, recently put out a draft Space Activities Bill to essentially regulate the commercial space activities in India. The rationale for a national space legislation set out in the draft of the bill is providing support for the overall growth of the space activities in India and encouraging the enhanced participation of non-governmental/private sector agencies in space activities, in compliance with the country’s international treaty obligations.

By assessing the challenges facing the industrialisation and marketing of the PSLV, we can get a clearer picture of what India needs to do become a bigger commercial operator than it currently is.

The potential of using small satellites for commercial Earth observation (EO) has successfully appraised the investment community into enabling NewSpace enterprises to launch several constellations like never before. Several of these constellations aim mostly at provisioning data at revolutionary costs and at never before achieved revisits. On one hand, these NewSpace enterprises are looking to disrupt the traditional EO data markets, and on the other, they are targeting either creation/support… Mehr anzeigen

The potential of using small satellites for commercial Earth observation (EO) has successfully appraised the investment community into enabling NewSpace enterprises to launch several constellations like never before. Several of these constellations aim mostly at provisioning data at revolutionary costs and at never before achieved revisits. On one hand, these NewSpace enterprises are looking to disrupt the traditional EO data markets, and on the other, they are targeting either creation/support for big data analytics platforms through these constellations and opening up new markets for EO products. Given the sheer number of NewSpace companies and the variety of constellations that are out there, one needs to wonder whether this is going to be a game changer or is it a massive bubble. In the next 5–10 years, will there be an oversupply of EO data or is there a shortfall in supply of market-relevant data? Will big data analytics platforms driven by high-revisit data availability be a game changer in the EO marketplace? Are the NewSpace commercial EO constellations targeting only price and revisit or is there more to this story? Do these constellations cater to most of the needs of EO data users? This work makes an attempt to provide a critical analysis of the NewSpace EO small satellite platforms and the constellations to perform an assessment of the commercial exploitation of such platforms in the EO marketplace. Weniger anzeigen

The Bill fails to address specific space-based activities separately, instead trying to cover large swaths of the space value chain in one go. It will not do justice to the entrepreneurial community if it is implemented as is.

Chapter in 'European Space Programs and the Digital Challenge', Ifri Reports, November 2017 on NewSpace Developments in Asia.

The United Nations (UN) has spearheaded an intergovernmental agreement to achieve a set of seventeen aspirational ”Global Goals” with 169 targets by 2030. These popularly known as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted on 25 September 2015 by the 193 countries of the UN General Assembly. SDGs include several important global issues including ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, making cities more sustainable, combating climate change, and protecting oceans and… Mehr anzeigen

The United Nations (UN) has spearheaded an intergovernmental agreement to achieve a set of seventeen aspirational ”Global Goals” with 169 targets by 2030. These popularly known as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted on 25 September 2015 by the 193 countries of the UN General Assembly. SDGs include several important global issues including ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, making cities more sustainable, combating climate change, and protecting oceans and forests, among others.

These developments are a time when the trajectory of growth of space assets are on an exponential curve with more than 5000 satellites projected to be launched within next decade. A major portion of these assets are small satellites platforms which are being deployed in constellations for several applications including Earth Observation (EO), communications, meteorology, etc. With the proliferation of small satellites based sensors/platforms in outer space, exploiting space-based assets as potential tools for advancement of SDGs in several of the listed goals and targets becomes feasible. These space assets provide an unprecedented opportunity be leveraged as tools in increasing transparency in governance and provide a foundation to enhance exploitation of space for the benefit of man and society.

The present work reviews the potential of exploring small satellite based sensors/platforms in advancing the achievement of these identified and adopted global goals. We take an approach on fusing technology and policies to provide a comprehensive perspective in the dimensions of environmental, social and economic spheres under the purview of Sustainable Development Goals. Weniger anzeigen

India’s blossoming NewSpace movement is slowly beginning to synch with the firebrand entrepreneurs starting companies around the world and targeting commercial opportunities for innovative space products/services. In a global context they are being backed mainly by private risk capital (mostly venture firms) with an expectation that the innovation pursued by these entrepreneurs will integrate into the economy here on the Earth, creating value towards a meaningful exit.

The present work provides insights on the key question as to are we or are we not at a tipping point where the government needs to draw a vision in securing national interests via creation of a Defence Space Agency as an interim arrangement until a fullfledged Aerospace Command is in place. If so, what are its technological, organisational and policy facets?

The increase in demand for space-based services in India brings along a unique opportunity to build up systemic capacity to deliver end-to-end space systems for the first time in the country.

India is a long-term investor in building up indigenous space infrastructure and facilities to develop rockets, satellites, and ground systems. However, the space sector is mainly government driven, with private industry participation limited to contributing to the missions executed by the Indian Space Research Organization. With the emergence of the New Space sector, there is a growing private space industry in India that needs to be supported by establishing legal aspects of space activities… Mehr anzeigen

India is a long-term investor in building up indigenous space infrastructure and facilities to develop rockets, satellites, and ground systems. However, the space sector is mainly government driven, with private industry participation limited to contributing to the missions executed by the Indian Space Research Organization. With the emergence of the New Space sector, there is a growing private space industry in India that needs to be supported by establishing legal aspects of space activities for private industry activities. This is important at both the international and national level, with the former needing consideration under the purview of the international treaty obligations of India and the latter for the development of the private industry ecosystem. In the present work, we explore some of the fundamental aspects of policies that need to be addressed in the process of forming national space legislation by the government of India. Recommendations in establishing a supportive ecosystem to encourage private space industry activity on a number of important issues are discussed herein. Weniger anzeigen

Over the past five decades, India has progressed to create one of the largest national space programs in the world, delivering space-based technology to solve the problems of man and society. The present work provides an overview of current trends regarding industry participation in the national space program of India. While insight into industry participation and upstream activity is provided in the space transportation and development of satellite systems, commercial aspects of satellite… Mehr anzeigen

Over the past five decades, India has progressed to create one of the largest national space programs in the world, delivering space-based technology to solve the problems of man and society. The present work provides an overview of current trends regarding industry participation in the national space program of India. While insight into industry participation and upstream activity is provided in the space transportation and development of satellite systems, commercial aspects of satellite communication services, use of geospatial data, and navigation and timing services are addressed as a part of the downstream applications. Specific recommendations to expand the footprint of the participation of Indian industry in the utilization of space technology nationally with possible expansion internationally are provided herein for space program managers and policymakers for both the upstream and downstream activities. Weniger anzeigen

A SpaceX happens not only because there is a vision of an Elon Musk, but also because there are people who buy into the vision in different quarters, be it government agencies, regulators, or investors.

Insights on usage of the navigation constellation on course for commercial/consumer electronics, extension of similar services to other SAARC nations and expansion of the footprint of the constellation in the future.

Technological capacity-based diplomacy may very well hold the key to deepening relationships both regionally and internationally for India. India’s space prowess must be effectively used as a tool in diplomacy and foreign policy not only for regional capacity building and collaboration with developing nations but also for enhancing India’s role in a global framework.

From the humble beginnings of the sounding rocket programme at the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) in the early sixties the Indian space programme has come a long way to realise independent capabilities in space, launch and ground segment to provide various civilian applications and services to the country. In the past decade, the activities of the Indian Space Research Organisation have witnessed a substantial rise which reflects on the number of missions as well as the… Mehr anzeigen

From the humble beginnings of the sounding rocket programme at the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) in the early sixties the Indian space programme has come a long way to realise independent capabilities in space, launch and ground segment to provide various civilian applications and services to the country. In the past decade, the activities of the Indian Space Research Organisation have witnessed a substantial rise which reflects on the number of missions as well as the budget of the space agency. The present work explores the diversification of the Indian space programme in the past decade with a detailed study on the capabilities and technologies realised with the sustained support of the Government of India into the space programme. Perspectives on the implications (for diplomacy, security and private industry) of the success achieved in the space programme alongside the challenges that may be faced in policy with the rising expectation for various services by different stakeholders within the country have been discussed. Weniger anzeigen

The Government of India needs to take such steps in building up such an extensive ecosystem to engender a ‘Space 2.0’ in India. Such a vision should enable the industry to not just support the needs of the local market but to take up turnkey development of upstream and downstream products and services for the global marketplace as well. This path in retrospect to the current can create a multiplier effect with some substantial benefits.

India has been an early adopter of space technology via sustained investments in developing indigenous infrastructure in space, launch and ground systems for a national mission of utilising societal applications from space assets. The continued support from the Government of India in establishment of an ecosystem for the development of space industry for over four decades has created several hundred industries catering to the national space programme. The present work provides a systematic… Mehr anzeigen

India has been an early adopter of space technology via sustained investments in developing indigenous infrastructure in space, launch and ground systems for a national mission of utilising societal applications from space assets. The continued support from the Government of India in establishment of an ecosystem for the development of space industry for over four decades has created several hundred industries catering to the national space programme. The present work provides a systematic overview of the value chain of the space ecosystem in India with pointing to some inherent challenges in the current value chain that needs to be addressed to explore the full potential of commercial exploitation, while respecting and fulfilling the needs of the civil society at large. Despite having a successful space program that resulted into many spin-offs, India is yet to have a globally reputed private commercial space company, or at least an internationally competitive industry landscape. An effort has been made to identify specific issues of space policy for the further development of the private space industry to establish a stronger presence of the Indian space industry in the international market. Weniger anzeigen

Selected paper presented in the 2015 space law conference at the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru edited as a book 'Commercialisation and Privatisation of Outer Space: Issues for National Space Legislation'; R. Venkata Rao and Kumar Abhijeet (Editors), Knowledge World Publishers, 2016. (ISBN No. 9789383649860).

The government aims to use space technologies for a variety of public services. To realise this, ISRO needs enough funds to meet the demand for space vehicles and launches, and invest in technological research.

We are sitting on a host of possibilities for generating multiplier effects across academia and industry, and benefit the country over a longer timespan, but aren’t taking advantage of them to the fullest.

Capabilities in space technology are turning into a corner stone of emergence of developing countries such as India and China. In a string of agreements for cooperation in outer space, India has developed several cooperation mechanisms with international partners to harness the benefits of space technology for mutual benefits. India has recently signed a multitude of cooperative agreements in outer space and these instruments of cooperation have advanced the space based capabilities and have… Mehr anzeigen

Capabilities in space technology are turning into a corner stone of emergence of developing countries such as India and China. In a string of agreements for cooperation in outer space, India has developed several cooperation mechanisms with international partners to harness the benefits of space technology for mutual benefits. India has recently signed a multitude of cooperative agreements in outer space and these instruments of cooperation have advanced the space based capabilities and have mutually benefitted the partners. In one such recent engagement, India has signed a bilateral cooperation Memorandum of Understanding with Brazil in the implementation of an arrangement establishing cooperation in the augmentation of a Brazilian Earth station for receiving and processing the data from Indian Remote Sensing satellite. The agreement has been based on the interest of Brazil to receive the Resourcesat-2 data for natural resources management, but not limited to it. In the backdrop of the agreement between India and Brazil, the present work presents an analysis of the state of capacities for these countries and an overview of policy implications for India. In a foreign policy perspective, the Indo-Brazil agreement has been timed at a stage when the Sino-Brazil cooperation is faced with a challenge of recent failure and is set to provide India a push into a better South–South cooperation. The agreement has provided India an added location to downlink its satellite data and may well lay a foundation for future cooperation with other Latin American States and for further global strengthening of ties in forums such as the IBSA. Weniger anzeigen

A chapter in the book 'Mars One: Humanity's Next Great Adventure: Inside the First Human Settlement on Mars'.

India has had a tremendous run in space with thumping successes in launch vehicle development, remote sensing, communication, space exploration and is now set to complete the navigation system. With globally accorded first time success of the Mars mission, we are possibly at a tipping point where India needs to turn a page in the orientation of how the space programme is orchestrated.

This paper examines the continuously evolving technology and applications of small satellites of the class of <150kg. These small satellites are often missions with a two- to five-year time-frame. This study probes the potential of extending small satellite technology to space security through a study of adaptation and experimentation by stakeholders in the industry.

The paper describes a Space Solar Power concept developed using Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes produced at NoPo. It shows how we can produce clean, green, limitless energy without the pitfalls of adding Carbon Dioxide to the atmosphere.

As a long-term investor in space technology and infrastructure, India is currently among the top nations in the world in terms of government space investment. Though space investment has been growing over the past few decades, India's space competitiveness has suffered from the absence of a globally reputed, private space industry. The present work provides key insights into India's stance in the global market and its emergence as a space power, and puts in context the emergence of New Space… Mehr anzeigen

As a long-term investor in space technology and infrastructure, India is currently among the top nations in the world in terms of government space investment. Though space investment has been growing over the past few decades, India's space competitiveness has suffered from the absence of a globally reputed, private space industry. The present work provides key insights into India's stance in the global market and its emergence as a space power, and puts in context the emergence of New Space globally. Weniger anzeigen

This month, India will carry out its biggest commercial launch to date, of five satellites weighing nearly 1,500 kilograms. I argue that, despite this milestone, India needs to do more to promote commercial space ventures in the country.

India is one of the very few developing countries that made an early investment into space technology and has sustained it over five decades. The very nature of the beginning of the Indian space program fundamentally differs from some of its counterparts in outer space. The Indian government has typically taken a stand on utilization of outer space for civilian benefits, and development of a national space infrastructure that can independently serve the vision of facilitating the civilian… Mehr anzeigen

India is one of the very few developing countries that made an early investment into space technology and has sustained it over five decades. The very nature of the beginning of the Indian space program fundamentally differs from some of its counterparts in outer space. The Indian government has typically taken a stand on utilization of outer space for civilian benefits, and development of a national space infrastructure that can independently serve the vision of facilitating the civilian benefit program. This particular stand has eventually created a vibrant space program that has indigenously developed capabilities in space, launch, and ground systems on the upstream and specific civilian programs (resource monitoring, meteorology, disaster management, etc.) on the downstream Weniger anzeigen

Observer Research Foundation, a premier Indian think tank has published an occasional paper titled 'India's Small Satellite Mission: Time for the Next Leap Forward'. The work attempts to provide extensive insights into the world of small satellites and the current state of small satellite activities within India at various institutions and identifies the opportunities alongside the gaps. Specific conclusions and recommendations have been made that can not only impact the current state of… Mehr anzeigen

Observer Research Foundation, a premier Indian think tank has published an occasional paper titled 'India's Small Satellite Mission: Time for the Next Leap Forward'. The work attempts to provide extensive insights into the world of small satellites and the current state of small satellite activities within India at various institutions and identifies the opportunities alongside the gaps. Specific conclusions and recommendations have been made that can not only impact the current state of development and usage of small satellite platforms/activities, but can also fundamentally change the approach to development of missions, considering the specific interests of each of these various institutions. Weniger anzeigen

The Indian space transportation programme has grown from strength to strength with the launching of sounding rockets in the 60׳s to the development of heavy lift vehicles for telecommunication satellites in the present decade. With the growing market confidence in Indian Space Research Organisation׳s ability to reliably deliver payloads to low Earth orbit with its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, there is an inherent opportunity for India to cater to the commercial market. The present work… Mehr anzeigen

The Indian space transportation programme has grown from strength to strength with the launching of sounding rockets in the 60׳s to the development of heavy lift vehicles for telecommunication satellites in the present decade. With the growing market confidence in Indian Space Research Organisation׳s ability to reliably deliver payloads to low Earth orbit with its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, there is an inherent opportunity for India to cater to the commercial market. The present work assesses the current launch capacity of India in retrospect of international launches and provides India׳s outlook for the space transportation in the current decade. Launch capacity correlation with the requirements within the Indian space programme as well as the current space transportation infrastructure have been considered to identify bottlenecks in catering to the current national requirements alongside securing a greater market share in the international launch market. The state of commercialisation of launch vehicle development has been presented to provide an overview of policy and organisational issues for commercialisation of space transportation in India. Weniger anzeigen

ISRO has recognised the growth in the space sector and has called for a greater role from the space industry in India which shall allow ISRO to focus its efforts on research and development while the routine development of spacecraft and launch vehicles can be taken up by the industry.

Academic paper for the International Astronautical Congress 2013 in Beijing, China. The paper describes the concept of the SpaceUp unconference series, developed in the USA in 2010 and spreading quickly over the global space community. SpaceUp offers a new modern platform for space communication and outreach within and outside the space industry.

Development of a novel evaluation method for Life Support Systems (LSS) using Bio-regenerative Systems which use higher plants.