ISRO to up outsourcing to industries in rocket-satellite areas

Bangalore, Jul 11: Indian space agency ISRO would significantly scale up outsourcing to industries to fuel the quantum jump in the programmes being undertaken by it and has mooted a risk-sharing model, its chairman K Radhakrishnan said on Monday, Jul 11.

He said more than 500 industries (micro, small, medium and large) already account for 60 per cent production of the space agency''s programme and their share would further go up.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is witnessing a "quantum jump" in the production of rockets (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) and satellites, in the last two-three years, he said.

Speaking to PTI, Radhakrishnan said the ISRO has already launched three satellites this year, and four more spacecraft are getting ready for launch by March next year.

"So you can see a quantum jump in both satellites and launch vehicles (rockets). And when you do this PSLV missions, you also send some of the foreign satellites," he said, adding the ISRO had already bagged order to launch 11 foreign satellites.

Radhakrishnan said in the case of proven launch vehicles (PSLV), standard satellite buses and communication transponders -- which are largely repetitive in nature -- he definitely sees outsourcing to industry to grow significantly.

PTI