Private sector in Indian space tech: Progress, challenges, and future

Sunita Williams' return in a SpaceX capsule has put the focus back on the role of private sector in space journeys

After 286 days of uncertainty and orbiting Earth 4,576 times, astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore have finally splashed down off the coast of Florida. The crew landed in a SpaceX capsule, after travelling to the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s new Starliner, underscoring the growing dominance of the private sector in the space industry.

 

In India too, the need for a faster evolution of the private sector in space is being felt especially in the upstream sector, against the backdrop of the the ‘Bharatiya Antriksh Station’ planned by 2035, and dreams of an Indian landing on the Moon by