Hope more start-ups enter the space sector: ISRO chairman S Somanath

Somanath recently took charge as the 10th chairman of the organisation

Eminent rocket scientist S Somanath took charge as the 10th chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and as the secretary of the Department of Space on January 14. In an interview with Shine Jacob, Somanath talks about his top priorities and the country’s space roadmap. Edited excerpts:

How important is the participation of the private sector in the entire range of space activities, including planetary exploration missions?

There is a huge set of governmental programmes, be it disaster management support, weather prediction modelling support, agriculture land resource mapping, strategic usages like boosting communication network , all these will have to