New Delhi: IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Goenka on Monday said private space companies in India are making strong progress and noted that the success of SpaceX’s IPO would encourage greater participation in India’s private space sector.

Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the India Space Congress, Goenka said Indian private space firms are contributing technology and resources to the country’s growing space ecosystem.

“The companies are providing technology, bringing a lot of resources, and doing very well,” he said.

Highlighting the role of the government in supporting the sector, Goenka said policy reforms and financial support have helped create a favourable environment for private participation.

“The government has opened up the space sector, bringing policies, enabling environment, providing incentives, subsidies, financial support, and investors are beginning to invest in space companies in India,” he added.

Goenka said the growth of India’s space sector depends on the combined efforts of industry, government and investors.

“Number one is the industry, number two, government, and number three, investors, and all three have to play their role,” he said.

Lauding SpaceX IPO, Goenka said it has drawn global attention and will encourage greater participation in India’s private space sector.

“It obviously is an IPO that has got attention of the whole world, and perhaps even providing motivation to Indian space companies and investors in Indian space companies to do more and take bigger risks,” he said.

On upcoming launches by Indian private firms, Goenka said, Hyderabad-based Skyroot would undertake its next launch soon but noted that the official launch date is yet to be announced.

He also said that Agnikul’s next private launch would follow later.

“The private launch, Agnikul, will be next, and again, the official date, they will have to announce, but it will be later on, not immediately,” he said.

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) under the Department of Space had earlier authorised the first private-sector launch vehicle mission by Skyroot Aerospace.

The Union Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister, took the decision in June 2020 to open up the Space sector and enable the participation of Indian private sector in the entire gamut of space activities.

Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), was created as a single-window, independent, nodal agency which functions as an autonomous agency in Department of Space (DOS) to facilitate private sector participation.