Indian space industry calls on regulators to study US’ deorbiting policy before mass rollout

Representative Image (Image courtesy: Twitter/@OneWeb)

The Indian space sector is in agreement with the US on the expedited deorbiting of satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), but it is urging other regulatory bodies to undertake more research and assess the impact on the US market before enacting similar regulations.

In the long run, according to stakeholders Moneycontrol spoke with, there would be a chance for numerous Indian space startups to provide their services in deorbiting and other related areas.

The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules on September 29, requiring LEO satellite operators to dispose of their satellites within 5 years of completion of their missions. Previously, the deadline for deorbit was 25 years.

The FCC recognised the challenges caused by orbital debris, which led to the implementation of this rule.

"There are more than 4,800 satellites operating in orbit as of the end of last year, and the vast majority of those are commercial low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. The new rule... will mean more accountability and less risk of costly collisions that increase debris," the FCC had said in a statement.

Pawan Kumar Chandana, co-founder of Skyroot Aerospace, explained the need for additional research in this area by stating that "The FCC-5yrs ruling will have an economic impact in the space industry as it will increase the cost of operation in the overall life cycle through additional deorbit solutions which are expensive."

However, he agrees that actionable steps toward sustainability in LEO are required.

"Though we eventually have to move towards LEO sustainability, I feel other regulators can go phase-wise adoption looking at the impact this creates in the US as economic sustainability of the industry, especially Indian industry, is extremely important for our country's aspirations," Chandana told Moneycontrol.

Skyroot has been working on developing the country’s first privately developed space launch vehicles.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Kranthi Chand, head of strategy at Dhruva Space, a Hyderabad-based start-up that develops small satellites for the commercial, governmental, and academic markets.

"More studies across ‘Space ESG’ (Environmental, Social Governance) need to be conducted before such regulatory decisions are taken," Chand said.

The startup is currently collaborating with a number of partners, including Bengaluru-based Bellatrix Aerospace, to ensure that their platforms have integrated deorbiting subsystems.

Opportunity

Stakeholders also see a huge opportunity in deorbiting solutions for the Indian space tech industry.

"The immediate benefit is for launch firms and in-orbit propulsion firms. We think this would have strong tailwinds for Indian players like Agnikul (Launch Vehicle) as more new satellites will be launched to deorbit/remove debris," Vishesh Rajaram, managing partner at Speciale Invest, told Moneycontrol.

Speciale Invest's portfolio currently includes Indian space tech startups such as Agnikul Cosmos, Astrogate Labs, GalaxEye Space and others.

"As for debris removal and deorbiting, this is a great step! There are companies building tracking and servicing solutions, specifically Inspecity, an IIT-Bombay startup building in-orbit servicing and debris removal/deorbiting products," Rajaram added.

According to Chandana of Skyroot Aerospace, there is an opportunity for Indian companies to build and offer globally competitive debris removal products and services.

Suyash Singh, co-founder and CEO of GalaxEye Space said, "Overall, this seems to be a good step as it increases supply in the satellite market and boosts confidence of insurers. It will also eventually bring down the costs eventually."

The Indian Space Association (IsPA) declined to comment on the matter.