Outpacing foreign players: IN-SPACe facilitates transfer of 10 ISRO technologies to six Indian industries

In another key step toward advancing India’s space industrial capabilities, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) recently facilitated the transfer of 10 state-of-the-art technologies developed by ISRO to six Indian industries across the upstream, midstream, and downstream segments.

The tripartite Technology Transfer Agreements (TTAs) were signed between NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the recipient industries, and IN-SPACe at the IN-SPACe headquarters in Ahmedabad.

The technology transfers aim to give private players the opportunity to access the developed technologies available with ISRO, enabling them to use space-related technology for commercial applications in space as well as other sectors.

It also looks at deepening industry participation, enable indigenisation, and reduce dependency on foreign technologies in critical areas of satellite launch, ground station infrastructure, and geospatial applications.

Dr. Pawan Goenka, Chairman, IN-SPACe, appreciated the proactive role of Indian industry and remarked: “The transfer of these technologies marks yet another significant step towards empowering the private sector to harness and commercialize space technologies. ISRO has a flourishing repository of R&D in space technologies and it is time we leverage that to the optimum to strengthen India’s space industrial ecosystem, and in that, industry-led innovation will play a key role.”

At the signing of the agreements, Rajeev Jyoti, Director, Technical Directorate, IN-SPACe said: “These technologies are vital and currently sourced from foreign suppliers. With this transfer, we are taking a pivotal step toward building indigenous capabilities within India.  ISRO, IN-SPACe, and NSIL will collaboratively provide comprehensive handholding support to all the industry players to ensure successful absorption of the technology.”

Among the technologies transferred are two advanced inertial sensors — the Laser Gyroscope and the Ceramic Servo Accelerometer — developed by ISRO’s Inertial Systems Unit, for potential use in satellite launch vehicles.

These technologies have been transferred to M/s Zetatek Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad, a company with over 25 years of expertise in Inertial Navigation System (INS) testing, calibration, and QA/QT equipment.

It makes Zetatek the first company from India to acquire such a niche technology, which is currently being imported by different sectors.

In the midstream segment, three technologies related to ground station operations — S/X/Ka tri-band dual circular polarised monopulse feed, tri-axis antenna control servo system, and Ku/C/L and S Band Cassegrain feed — developed by ISRO have been transferred to M/s Avantel and M/s Jisnu Communications, both Hyderabad-based firms specialising in end-to-end communications solutions for space and defence platforms.

These technologies, currently sourced from foreign vendors, will enable self-reliance in critical ground station infrastructure.

On the downstream front, two geospatial models developed by SAC/ISRO for pest forewarning and semi-physical crop yield estimation were transferred to Amnex Info Technologies, Ahmedabad, to be deployed in agricultural decision-making and crop protection.

A compact, multi-parameter, portable bathymetry system developed by NRSC/ISRO has been transferred to M/s Jalkruti Water Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Ahmedabad, to enable UAV-based integration for water resource monitoring.

Further, VSSC/ISRO’s ceramic-based flame-proof coating technology — originally developed for launch vehicle applications — has been acquired by M/s Ramdev Chemicals, Ahmedabad, for wider industrial applications.