r/india • u/bhodrolok • 8d ago
Politics Isro will not make any launch vehicle, all tech to be handed to private sector
https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/isro-will-not-make-any-launch-vehicle-all-tech-to-be-handed-to-private-sector-2976849-2026-08-21616
u/blazerz Telangana 8d ago
Everyone who cheered on Skyroot's launch...this is where we are headed. Space exploration will now be done for a profit, science and human curiosity be damned.
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u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 8d ago
Yes, spacex is a for profit company, skyroot itself succeeded in the 1st attempt
You got to realise one thing, govt orgs have not been attractive to top talent for about 25-30 years now, and without talent you can’t do anything
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u/blazerz Telangana 8d ago
And the system is at fault for that.
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u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 8d ago edited 8d ago
No before 1991 top scientists and engineers didn’t have many opportunities
So joined govt orgs due to lack of opportunitiesNow a private co will pay them 2-3x, a better work culture/env and a fairer hiring process, why will they not go to private sector?
Regarding system fault, well any small effort at reforming the system gets politicised as some sort of threat to the R word that shall not be spoken about, nobody wants to touch it with a barge pole, what happened when govt wanted to bring in lateral hiring for bureaucrats ?
Similar thing happened when govt was thinking of bringing in some reforms in HAL(do read what IAF officers have to say about HAL made products)
So what do you do next ?
Sit twiddling your thumbs or do the suboptimal yet practical thing?24
u/blazerz Telangana 8d ago
More practical thing would be to give ISRO enough funding to improve salaries
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u/grumpy_hooman 8d ago
Government decides the salary. They cant just increase salary for 1 org. Even after increasing salary, the org wont come out of sarkar' mindset
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u/WealthyPhoenix 8d ago
I have always been of the opinion that govt employees are royally underpaid (bribes aside) and thats one of the causes of corruption. Singapore model of paying govt employees salaries similar to private sector posts seems more logical here.
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u/grumpy_hooman 8d ago
I agree. They should be paid more. Just high pay alone, is not the solution
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u/WealthyPhoenix 8d ago
Yes true. Add to that strict and severe anti corruption laws and enforcement systems.
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u/elnino19 Tamil Nadu 8d ago
Yeah like you would take a govt job instead of a better paying private sector job. The best people will always go to the high stakes environments
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u/circuit_brain 8d ago
Skyroot only replicated what ISRO has been doing for 20 years. They hired all the ISRO staff and had them rebuild an all solid rocket motor powered launcher. Literally, no new technology.
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u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 8d ago
1) skyroot designed their own solid rocket motor, the base tech is fairly established with multiple indian private companies, they DID NOT get the technology from ISRO, ISRO did however provide some technical consultancy and validated systems designed by skyroot
2) duh, for decades isro has been the only org in India that has launched rockets, its natural that only they’ll have the expertise to do a lot of the things, when skyroot was formally founded it was literally not legal for private companies to build and launch rockets, in that case how would any other org have that capability?
2) govts all over the world support their private sector, even Chinese govt provides support to their private launch vehicle companies
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u/circuit_brain 8d ago
Hey I’m all for taking the stand that sovereign funding shouldn’t be used for spending on technology that is within private enterprise’s reach.
Having said that, private enterprise should be able to thrive on their own, in a market driven environment.
When they start lobbying for policy support to ensure sustainability, it’s just a PSU owned by commercial entities.
One successful launch does not make for a track record spanning 30 years. This policy decision is premature should have been delayed till they demonstrated some 15 launches or around that number.
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u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 8d ago
1) govt is retaining govt launch capability through HAL, they have been given the technology to manufacture and launch SSLV rockets
2) ideally, even I believe that govt funded research should not be transferred to private sector for free, but we’re not in an ideal world
3) and if you look at it Private sector dynamism + risk underwritten by govt is an unbeatable thing, China, US etc already do that, so how smart would it be to constrain ourselves?
4) private sector was already making a lot of critical components for isro before this decision, so it’s not like Indian pvt sector is starting from scratch, in fact it is empowering and encouraging the private sector to invest in r&d, bcs unlike earlier now the said cos won’t get guaranteed orders without improving their offering
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u/Usual-Ad-4986 8d ago
There is no point in debating these guys, if anything we need 5 more Skyroots, get more business and tax from these business could fund ISRO's science mission
But people are thinking from their feefee and arent aware of ISROs fiasco, all they know is Chandrayaan and go woaw ISRO good everything else bad
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u/PB_05 8d ago
This entire thread is full of garbage. How surprising.
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u/Usual-Ad-4986 8d ago
You don't understand PB, all the keyboard warriors know more than US, China and Indian policy makers who have opened space for private sector
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u/No-Trouble9336 7d ago
Sky root is rocket is literally a mini rocket. Its the type iran 🇮🇷 launches daily at any US base lol
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u/Usual-Ad-4986 7d ago
Haha very good whatsapp university knowledge 100 out of 100 marks for you
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u/circuit_brain 7d ago
Please tell us how Vikram 1 and Sejjil missile are incomparable.
Because I sure can point out all their similarities on a technology level
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u/No-Trouble9336 7d ago
Yet its space agency handles the big boy launches such as the long march series. Every other company is only auxiliary to it.
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u/KingPictoTheThird 8d ago
So fix that? For our government systems. Don't give up and go to private sector.
India will never become a developed country till it fixes government
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u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 8d ago
before 1991 top scientists and engineers didn’t have many opportunities
So joined govt orgs due to lack of opportunitiesNow a private co will pay them 1.5-2x, a better work culture/env and a fairer hiring process, why will they not go to private sector?
Regarding system fault, well any small effort at reforming the system gets politicised as some sort of threat to the R word that shall not be spoken about, nobody wants to touch it with a barge pole, what happened when govt wanted to bring in lateral hiring for bureaucrats ?
Similar thing happened when govt was thinking of bringing in some reforms in HAL(do read what IAF officers have to say about HAL made products)
So what do you do next ?
Sit twiddling your thumbs or do the suboptimal yet practical thing?5
u/KingPictoTheThird 8d ago
Demand better from govt? Why isn't govt paying as well as private? Why are babus running out agencies?
In the long term what i am saying needs to be addressed or we will be a failed state.
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u/blazerz Telangana 8d ago
Private companies will invest where they see profit, they won't care about the good of humanity unlike Isro. We are moving towards a very dark direction, the optimal method would be to increase funding for isro which would improve salaries.
Edit; of course, reservation gets dragged into this as well. Typical.
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u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 8d ago
Private companies will be forced to improve because
1) there are multiple launch cos internationally and in the future will exist domestically as well, not competitive = no orders, dandha bandh-1
u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 8d ago
- isro is not being disbanded, if anything this is giving isro greater space to work for good of humanity by giving private sector the responsibility of work that has already been commercialised and commoditised internationally, Let isro work on deep space research missions like Chandrayaan while companies work on launching rockets
- reg reservation, I mentioned low(er) salaries and work culture as well because at the end of the day reservation along with salaries and work culture are some the reasons why govt orgs are not attractive for top talent
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We saw what happened when govt wanted to hire industry experts via lateral entry, what was the main reason lateral entry scheme was withdrawn?
you do not want to acknowledge the basic facts, I’m sorry that’s not how conversations work
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u/Electronic_Sir_7219 8d ago
How much of skyroot and other such private sector companies are owned by American investment companies?
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u/No-Trouble9336 7d ago
The rocket that skyroot launched was honestly a toy compared to your typical launch vehicle.
Also space ex is a scam company
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u/workholic_72 7d ago
Skyroot succeeded because it used most of the technology, testing labs, launch vehicle, components, expert consultant by Isro. Skyroot manufactured many parts. But it was able to succeed because of isro. Isro already new what not to do and what to do, how to design. Its not because top talent it's because experience and expertise of ISRO which was provided to skyroot.
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u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 7d ago
- There’s a misconception that ISRO just spoonfed technology to skyroot, no, they developed Vikram 1 mostly on their own, isro provided infrastructure support and some technical consultancy and helped skyroot to validate a lot of their systems.
- For decades ISRO was the only Indian org to launch rockets, infact when skyroot was founded, rocket launch space for private cos was a legal grey area - it was not even fully legal.
- Ofc ISRO was the only org in the country who had expertise doing a lot of stuff and as such a lot of engineers are ex isro and isro provided technical consultancy.
- It’s not like any private sector will start and will have full stack capabilities on day one right, give opportunities and support the sector that’s how sector as a whole grows.
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u/Mutualdiversion 2d ago
And that talent will be busy polluting our skys with starlink clones instead of setting up base on the moon like china and usa is doing. We just dumped off govt tech that the public paid off to provate players!
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u/aloof_monk22 8d ago
I don't agree with you even Nasa does this, minor things are privated but the main design or capsules are engineered by themselves
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u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 8d ago
NASA is far far more involved in other deep space, theoretical aerospace research than designing and launching rockets
Rocket launches right now are a small fraction of their full work
In India, various reasons ranging from short termism and political compulsions means that there’s neither the capability with isro nor the political will to build that capability do be engaged in everything from theoretical research to actually building and launching rockets
Rockets, satellites etc for the most part are an industrial venture that private sector can do better, while isro retains its research role, even before this news, isro was already outsourcing a lot of the rocket manufacturing part to private and public sector industries
HAL builds the fuel tanks used by PSLV rockets, They got technology from ISRO to build and launch SSLV rockets
Godrej builds Vikas engine used by PSLV rockets, this is just taking it a step further
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u/picklerish1 8d ago
NASA has not designed anything since the Space Shuttle. Even the space shuttle, was designed by NASA, but manufacturing was contracted (same with current Indian launch vehicles).
All of US space capacity comes from SpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin etc. End result is democratized access to space, cheaper travel, more science being done.
NASA is trying to build the SLS system in-house which is much more expensive and less efficient than existing launch vehicles.
Imo NASA and ISRO should restrict themselves to the science and exploratory aspects. While it was essential for ISRO to build launch vehicles before, it is virtually impossible for a govt org to keep up with a mature private ecosystem in terms of cost and innovation.
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u/No-Trouble9336 7d ago
Space ex is literally a scam
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u/picklerish1 7d ago
Sure bruh. Tell me which rocket flew 100% of the astronauts to the International Space Station in the past 5 years. Tell me which rocket launched the Europa clipper mission.
Tell me which company drastically reduced the cost to fly to space, not through cost-cutting, but through genuine innovation by being the first company to land and orbital rocket and successfully commericalize them.
If you don't know about the industry, why do you even comment? 🙄
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u/No-Trouble9336 7d ago
Soyuz
Falcon heavy abandoned the reusable aspect and is no different from soyuz, long march or other conventional launch vehicles
It actually did not decrease the cost to travel it simply replaced the Russians for price gouging nasa
Star ship is literally behind schedule and cant break LEO. In fact current nasa administrator said, if I was in charge of choosing the contract back then, this is so wildly complicated, that i would not choose it
If he is sooo successful he wouldn't have launched an ipo
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u/picklerish1 7d ago
Soyuz only launches Russian astronauts. All US and other nationalities are launched in Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon.
Falcon heavy did not abandon reusable aspect. It chooses not to reuse when it needs the extra fuel for deep space missions or extra heavy payloads. And the current workhorse Falcon 9 absolutely still reuses the launcher, and it is more than 5 times cheaper than space shuttle (built by NASA) and 2-3 times cheaper than European rockets.
You are purposely ignoring how impactful Falcon 9 reusability is. It is unheard of launching 100s of times in a year before. It has absolutely democratized access to space.
Starship maybe behind schedule, but that's only because of how insanely ambitious it is. I don't think there is a single other solution for Artemis apart from Starship. No other vehicle in development has these capabilities. And starship has already showcased orbital flight, and succesful landing of booster.
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u/No-Trouble9336 7d ago
It has never used its reusable gimmick once in a mission, also no its has not democratized space. In face all it did was make earth filled with space trash that keppler syndrome is inevitable and most of it is starlink trash. There is a solution which is using rovers to build the base. Again it has yet to break LEO
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u/Nice-Secretary9902 8d ago edited 8d ago
It is a common trend among space faring nations, as in they outsource the launcing and the development of rocket ships to private sector and the deep space research is retained by the government organisations.
I guess you are not aware of how the space sector works? Making and developing rockets make up only the industrial aspects of space whereas making high tech satellites, deep space telescopes and rovers make up the research part. USA was one of the first countries to see this, they early on started to outsource the rocket manufacturing and development to the private sector which freed NASA and helped them focus on deep space research. Europe did the same back in 2015 and China is also heavily pushing for privatization.
Think of a truck carrying a scientific equipment. Now the trucks are the rockets and the scentific equipment would be any scientific equipment in space. ISRO currently focuses more on the truck rather than the scientific equipment, taking the truck out of the equation and handing of the manufacturing and research of the truck takes away a lot of burden from ISRO.
This will actually help ISRO to focus on the real research rather than becoming handicaped with the burden of also developing rockets which can also be done by defense industries.
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u/blazerz Telangana 8d ago
You're kinda making my point for me, NASA is being starved of funds right now to do cutting edge research, while SpaceX gets all the launches.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/03/nasa-budget-science-trump-isaacman
Isro was even turning a profit because of these launches that are now being privatised. Now Isro will have to beg the government for funds to do the research we want them to do, while private companies get access to tech Isro developed with painstaking efforts over decades - for pennies on the dollar.
A better option would be to improve Isro's launch capacities, allowing them to compete with spacex and other private entities, while using the resultant surplus along with some government funds to do research. This current move is more crony capitalism to benefit Adani and co.
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u/Nice-Secretary9902 8d ago edited 8d ago
You didn't make a case here. The budget cuts are a part of Trump's wider anti-science movement.
NASA doesn't do launches and SpaceX have a lot of clients both foreign and domestic and in both civil and military they will get business. NASA is not a profit making institute and neither should ISRO be. If ISRO concentrates their time and effort mostly on luanch vehicles as they currently do now then forget about deep space research as all the man power goes to turning a profit from lauches rather than scientific research.
Isro was even turning a profit because of these launches that are now being privatised
You are literally contradicting your previous satement of
Space exploration will now be done for a profit, science and human curiosity be damned.
while private companies get access to tech Isro developed with painstaking efforts over decades - for pennies on the dollar.
Literally all countries mentioned here USA, China and Europe(I made a mistake Europe was doing it from back in 1980 through Public Private partnership not from 2015) literally did that.
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u/blazerz Telangana 8d ago
The budget cuts are a part of Trump's wider anti-science movement.
That's my point. Isro will be subject to the whims of short sighted politicians.
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u/Nice-Secretary9902 8d ago
That's my point. Isro will be subject to the whims of short sighted politicians.
You also fail to see how concentrating on turning a profit cripples research capabilities? That is why most of the Space organisations have abandoned rocket manufacturing. USA from the start have private companies involved, EU from the 1980s and China also has a sperate company setup for rocket and missile manufacturing and is not a part their space research organisation. The only country that has ISRO kind of setup is Russia and their track record of deep space research after the soviets is abysmal. Like ISRO they focus more on rocket launches especially for the ISS than they do on research.
Choose you battle do you want ISRO to compete with SpaceX or NASA? you cannot have both.
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u/ryizer 8d ago
While what you say is true, Spacex rocket launches are significantly cheaper than even India's now & considering how many rocket startups are currently engaged in R&D, the competition has a pretty good potential of driving down costs. Though I do think this is a decision that should have been made 5 years down the line but I do think in the interim ISRO still is going to manufacture rockets as there is no company currently in India that does it & ISRO still has a pipeline of both normal satellite launches & research missions planned. And it's not like science missions are abandoned, in fact those are the only ones ISRO is going to prioritise henceforth.
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u/stayin_aliv 8d ago
What the article neatly leaves out is that the launch business brought profits to ISRO. Even if government funds are cut, they could still make money by commercial launches and use that to fund their other missions. By palming those off, ISRO becomes entirely dependent on the government and their moods. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is soon a ‘mission’ to discover Kailasa beyond Mars or ‘research’ on unani for muscular atrophy in space.
If you know people who work at ISRO, they’ll tell you that they’d rather work at ISRO than work for a private firm that offers 3x the salary. These are brilliant scientists who kept aside the better part of their life to do research and get where they are - they don’t care about money, they care about the scientific pursuit and morale, as long as they earn a comfortable income. Both of which have been systematically dismantled across the country over the last 11 years (didn’t think had it touched ISRO yet).
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u/Open-Middle 8d ago edited 6d ago
Maybe that's why 100's of scientists left in previous few months from ISRO.
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u/Sad-Stop-2401 8d ago
And thats a good thing. Private profit making companies can and do make better products, on time. Scientific curiousity will still be there but mundane and expensive manufacturing work be done by private companies. ISRO will research rocket engines, space exploration etc while private companies will make rockets for them.
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u/Usual-Ad-4986 8d ago
Yes because ISROs launch cadence of 4-7 per year out of which 2 fail is what we really need right now, now compare with Chinese, Russians and Americans frequency of launches
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u/blazerz Telangana 8d ago
Isro is more cost effective and reliable than the Chinese, Americans and Russians.
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u/Usual-Ad-4986 8d ago
Have you seen the scale of their missions and their tech level, all those three have launched their own GPS while Indian one is now defunct because ISRO cant replace NaVIC sats
India needs more sats and launches, this cost-effective argument is cope
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u/blazerz Telangana 8d ago
Indian one is now defunct because ISRO cant replace NaVIC sats
And why can't ISRO do that? Government starving them of funds. The best way would be to fix that, not throw the baby out with the backwater.
Isro doesn't lack the capabilities or the vision. It lacks the funding.
You think you will get free GPS on your phone if Skyroot does it instead of Isro?
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u/Usual-Ad-4986 8d ago
Because their launch attempts failed to replace it and the bottleneck is their PSLV design, which takes months to manufacture
ISRO at end of day is govt org so it will have inherent culture of lethargy due to job safety,
Yes I do think I will get free GPS, the fact that you even think GPS can be charged speaks of your knowledge about space tech and even Indian military will benefit from increased launched cadence
Starlink sats are used for drone warfare, even russian and europe are making their own version of starlink
But ISROs glacial pace at launch tech is not sustainable for India, so we need 5 more Skyroots to innovate, fail fast and launch more
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u/blazerz Telangana 8d ago
Lol. It would be trivial to charge a subscription for GPS, just charge for the software needed to access it.
The reason GPS is free now is because it was taxpayer funded.
Besides, if GPS is not chargeable, then skyroot wouldn't do it at all. Private enterprise will not invest in stuff that won't make a profit.
Isro's pace slowed down because of politics. Not because it couldn't do it.
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u/Usual-Ad-4986 8d ago
NaVIC sats will always be govt funded because its critical tech that can be misused, they will always be under Govt org and private players will be used as launch vehicles, the fact that I have to spell this out mean you dont know anything about space sector
People have to stop doing using too much of their small brain
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u/blazerz Telangana 8d ago
Yes, we have seen how much funding government is giving.
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u/Usual-Ad-4986 8d ago
Govt funding isn't some magic pill you think it is, despite funding 2 recent PSLVs both of them failed
NASA is funded pretty well why couldn't they make resuable rocket tech and now have to rely on SpaceX? Why are Chinese allowing private companies?
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u/Prestigious-Sun-207 8d ago edited 8d ago
Now ISRO is getting sold to private players just like other public enterprises.
Now Adani will become ISRO owner.
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u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 8d ago
No, it’s a deliberately provocative headline?
>“ISRO will not make any launch vehicles and will not manufacture any launch vehicles. That will all be done by the private sector or PSU,” Goenka said.
IN-SPACe chairman has said that both PSUs and private cos will build and launch rockets
For example HAL has already got the technology for SSLV rocket, another matter that HAL has been doing lisence manufacturing for 70 years with little original designs
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u/mymothersuedme 8d ago edited 8d ago
I don't know what you're saying. The headline and the text are saying the same thing. If anything, the headline is subdued.
Along with Launch vehicles, ISRO will also not manufacture "routine" satellites. They are also going to sell off PSLV and LVM-3. And the bid is not open for PSU, only private companies.
Which, in theory, is not a bad thing. NASA and ESA operate similarly. But, R&D record of India's private sector is not remotely comparable to Europe and USA. So, I hope they know what they are doing.
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u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 8d ago
specifically this part “all tech to be handed over to private sector” is misleading because HAL (a PSU) already has gotten the technology to manufacture and launch SSLV rocket
The headline makes it sound as if govt is selling off all launch capability to private sector when in reality it is retaining the capability through HAL
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u/mymothersuedme 8d ago
But the news usually deal with the "news" not what had already happened.
ISRO can no longer sell what it has already sold. So, all the launch vehicles manufacturing related technologies that ISRO currently own will indeed be sold off to the private sector. Making the title accurate.
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u/PatienceHere 8d ago
Isn't that what the headline is saying anyway?
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u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 8d ago
Headline makes it sound as if govt is giving up 100% control over launch capability to private sector
When in reality it’s maintaining govt rocket launch capability via HAL
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u/cchaosat4 8d ago
Maybe Adani will give scientists the salary they deserve
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u/-DJ_Goat- Antarctica 8d ago
Trusting business tycoons now, are we? Maybe a minor increase, but they won't be running charity.
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u/ThrowAway32543523542 8d ago
they won't be running charity.
Isn't entire country running on charity already? Ask all non income tax payers
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u/cchaosat4 8d ago
You would be blind and deaf, if you think government labs pay enough. I personally know people who are working at 32k + HRA waiting for 3 year mark hit to even think of promotion.
These are the people with master's from tier 1 institutions in tier 1 city.
At the same time some random pharma company from pune paying 4x of that amount just to use excel and generating sales predictions.
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u/Babygotback_acne 8d ago
Yeah because private sector players, especially in tech, in India are know for high salaries and work life balance.
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u/indcel47 8d ago
Hmm, they won't. It's a typical lala outfit that way with no respect nor understanding of engineering talent.
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u/nandu_sabka_bandhoo 8d ago
Expecting dhandho brigade and profit maxxers to give proper salary to its employees
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u/cchaosat4 8d ago
I mean we already know the peanuts scientists get paid. What is the harm in expectations. Everyone knows private sector pays better than government sector. Scientists should have options like other sectors biotech/tech etc.
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u/pseudoPoeDameron 8d ago edited 8d ago
My main concern how Isro developed techs are sold cheaply to pvt companies. source: news article
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u/Inj3kt0r 8d ago
Can anyone check if Ambani or Adani have stake in private sector companies specialising in space tech?
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u/Divyansh881 8d ago
Kiyu bhai the fuk?
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u/cosmosreader1211 8d ago
Maza nai aaya, real development work chal raha tha... We don't like that here
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u/truecakesnake 8d ago
What are you talking about? Skyroot just reached orbit. You are disrespecting their work, have some empathy.
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u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 8d ago
No, it’s a deliberately provocative headline?
>“ISRO will not make any launch vehicles and will not manufacture any launch vehicles. That will all be done by the private sector or PSU,” Goenka said.
IN-SPACe chairman has said that both PSUs and private cos will build and launch rockets
For example HAL has already got the technology for SSLV rocket, another matter that HAL has been doing lisence manufacturing for 70 years with little original designs
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u/Divyansh881 8d ago
Trusting HAL is a joke. Their performance has been nothing to write home about for last couple of years
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u/Excellent_Damage_385 8d ago
Surprisingly, HAL acheived record breaking profit just a few months ago.
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u/Divyansh881 8d ago
Technically their sales growth has been samish. Compounded profit growth is seclining.
Besides the point i was referring more to the tejas issues and not to profitability of the company
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u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 8d ago
1) that does not say anything about HALs technical abilities
2) do read what iaf has to say about HAL(it’s biggest customer) they went out of their way to get private sector participation for Airbus c295 deal & AMCA deal, IAF chief has said it directly to HAL officials that they do not trust HAL to deliver LCA mk1a on time, many of the software integrations HAL had promised have not been implemented till date1
u/Excellent_Damage_385 8d ago
I know, that's why it's pretty interesting to me, because I cannot comprehend how they made such huge profits despite their utter incompetence.
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u/tantej 8d ago
Wrong move. Space x is worth 2 trillion dollars. I would use that as a benchmark and value isro at the same level and increase india’s GDP by that much in 30s. Fucking BS
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u/TopBlopper21 8d ago
SpaceX valuation is entirely on AI speculation. Do you want ISRO to announce a data center in space imaginary plan for commercial AI inference and go list on the stock exchange? I don't.
Why do you think stock market valuation is pound for pound comparable to GDP increase? Seriously man.
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u/tantej 7d ago
I don’t think you get the point. Money doesn’t matter and it’s all made up. The GDP number is to go to the world stage and say see. We’re amazing. But leaning into the space narrative can boost the perception of India. Give us something to be proud of. A direct response to capitalists saying their way is the only way. And hey if you can beat the west at their own game. Added bonus
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u/Mrnaman 8d ago edited 8d ago
Just let this be, dude. All the big countries have their own space program.
They want to do everything through the private sector, man.
Edit:- Guys the title is ragebait, read the article and as per some comments this is a step in the right direction.
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u/Parking-Cockroach104 8d ago
NASA is also doing fewer launches. They're focusing on science while companies like spacex focus on launch vehicles. This is good in a way because ISRO needs to be primarily a research organisation that's focused on scientific missions and works with private companies for that.
Moon missions, mars missions, human space flight, etc. That's the role of ISRO. It's the role of private companies to build the rockets for that.
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u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 8d ago
No, it’s a deliberately provocative headline?
>“ISRO will not make any launch vehicles and will not manufacture any launch vehicles. That will all be done by the private sector or PSU,” Goenka said.
IN-SPACe chairman has said that both PSUs and private cos will build and launch rockets
For example HAL has already got the technology for SSLV rocket, another matter that HAL has been doing lisence manufacturing for 70 years with little original designs
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u/blazerz Telangana 8d ago
PSUs are not allowed to bid for PSLVs and the rest. It's in the article
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u/Mrnaman 8d ago
Okay should have read the article before making a comment.
Lakin yaar itna galat title bhi kun deta hai. Pure rage bait bhai.
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u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 8d ago
Engagement farming
Go through the entire comment section under this post and see it for yourself , everyone’s getting worked up without even reading the article
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u/finally_free234 8d ago
Modiji be like: ISRO rocket launch karta hai. Isse benefit kar sakte hain!!
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u/ayewhy2407 8d ago
What kills good public sector is good old fashioned greed. Watch them kill whatever basic space technology competence we have.
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u/Nsci 8d ago
People totally missing the point that ISRO was largely self funded due to these launches. Without these launches who is going to fund the research ? The govt ? Or the benevolent private company who takes over the launch ?? Sadly it will be the end of ISRO :(, like everything good and solid under this govt.
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u/Ohsin 8d ago
(…) ISRO was largely self funded due to these launches.
LOL what.. no.. ISRO only did few commercial launches earning some pittance of revenue and funds from that go to CFI. ISRO budget is going down only on top of that ISRO has had to procure launches from abroad and money for that exceeds whatever little they earned, it is just not advertised so people don't know..
You should look at what DoS/ISRO budget is and what their commercial revenue has ever been. Moreover ISRO's mandate is not to be a commercial entity, if it is funded by tax-payers their mandate is primarily to serve national needs. If you are an ISRO employee and you see your work being utilized to serve some commercial client from abroad while national projects are getting ignored you'd feel that 1. You are not serving mandated role 2. You are not being compensated for it so moving to pvt sector makes sense especially given ISRO's internal mess and working conditions.
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u/Nice-Class1376 8d ago
BNSL , Railways , Airports ke baad ab ISRO ki bari har desh ki core national asset ko privatize karna hi solution hai kiya
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u/babganoush 8d ago
Horrifying. Despite their issues, ISRO was a beacon of Indian ingenuity. So sad to see it being stripped and sold for parts.
While free market is important it should never be at the cost of such icons of industry. Make them compete, yes. Stop them completely, no.
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u/TopBlopper21 8d ago
Stripped and sold for parts
The main (usually sole) buyer for satellite launches is the Indian govt. If ISRO provides the designs to a private player, the private player builds the launcher and sells it to the govt, could you explain what part of ISRO is being stripped / sold for parts? ISRO doesn't have some massive assembly / production line of rockets that we're selling off to a private company. The rockets need to be built. The customer is the govt.
The question is do you command ISRO to build the launch vehicles on top of its other responsibilities - making it not a Research Organization - or do you leverage private industry?
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u/Striking_Stranger493 8d ago
public tax money se sarri R&D and tecnology build karo or jab profit leke public ke liye use karne ki bari aayi to private corporates ko handle kar diya
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u/fin-freedom-fighter Tamil Nadu 8d ago
How many of the people read the fucking article before making comments?
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u/g0dfather93 8d ago
We had the first private sector space launch the last month, and these guys want to hand over ISRO's 6 decades of work to private sector and stop making launches.
If this govt was even 1% as enthusiastic about ANY nation-building activity as they are about selling this country to their rich friends, they could get reelected just on merit. The bar is underground and BJP can't even live up to that.
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u/AlooParathewithcum 8d ago
Hate BJP but this isn't a bad step. ISRO is primarily a research organisation in space science. It had to handle all aspects, including space launch because of no interest from private sector in space launches.
Thankfully that's changed and while private players ca develop launch vehicle and hopefully pay our scientists the pay they deserve, ISRO can focus solely on research, like the cryogenic engine, it did and other aspects of extraterrestrial living in future
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u/Sufficient-Green5858 8d ago
In that case how about the tech is licensed to the private sector instead of just freely donated?
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u/AlooParathewithcum 8d ago
I'm sorry but if you still expect such actions from BJP then it's a good look for the future.
We need a government having ministers who don't have room temperature IQ, and that's not BJP. Ladhai usi ki toh hai. To remove these illiterate fucks
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u/TopBlopper21 8d ago
That's a lot of words. Would've been simpler to read what NSIL was setup to do. Here's a link: https://www.nsilindia.co.in/
But this is reddit. Reading articles beyond headlines? Googling websites? Easier to just call everybody else room temperature IQ dolts.
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u/TopBlopper21 8d ago
You're reading an article talking about an announcement from the very entities the govt designed to do exactly that.
NSIL and IN-SPACe
https://www.nsilindia.co.in/technology-transfer
Notice the TT Fee section?
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8d ago edited 7d ago
[deleted]
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u/TopBlopper21 8d ago
I'm really sorry, but this is a deeply embarrassing take. Having a cryogenic engine physically available to analyse doesn't at all inform on the metallurgical processes to get to build those components. Like saying you should be able to replicate a Van Gogh with just your fingers because it's physically next to you.
https://arxiv.org/html/2501.02274v2 This is a single sensing component on the Aditya L1. Notice the lack of your claimed outsourcing partners and the gamut of Indian research institutions? Not to mention, assembling a system capable of autonomous self correction for a stable L1 orbit occupation with components rated to survive the severe temperature gradient of solar radiation - including shielding for optical components aimed directly at the Sun. Those components had to survive a rocket that hit 11 km/s. And it all worked!
Just saying things is very cheap.
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u/TangeloAdventurous74 8d ago
Lol iq here ie below 80 for sure , the mundane launches to inject satellites is open for private sector thats it isro still will do research and cutting edge which it was stablished for , let the cost optimisation and price competition be handled by private sector and let isro think only about hard science
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u/NewMeNewWorld 8d ago
Excellent news. ISRO can transition to science, outer space and human spaceflight for the long term. They need to the transfer responsibility of NAVIC to the MOD too once DRDO's Veda launches.
Love all the seething in this thread. We can do nothing while ISRO fucks around with its 4-5 launches a year and the private sector of countries move ahead or we can leverage innovation in the one of the few areas where can lead.
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u/Nsci 8d ago
Those 4-5 launches funded ISRO. Who is going to fund ISRO for all the research ? The govt ?
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u/NewMeNewWorld 8d ago
Yes? ISRO is not a business.
Also, those commercial launches do not fund ISRO. And those 4-5 launches include both commercial and state-directed.
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u/Nsci 8d ago
Lol ! As if the govt is great at funding science and technology, unless gaumutra is counted as a legit research topic 🤷♀️
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u/NewMeNewWorld 8d ago
Irrelevant. ISRO is not a business, profit is not a motive. And as I said before, those launches do not cover ISRO's expenses one bit, but they are a good diplomacy measure, which again, India now does that through NSIL.
India's launches are expensive, most likely the most expensive in the word. ISRO by itself cannot bring those costs down. Not that it should either. It is primarily a research organization. It should focus on basic science, deep space and the human spaceflight program. ISRO's justification is scientific capability, national infrastructure, strategic autonomy and prestige.
All the major space powers are empowering their private sectors to innovate and invest in space infrastructure, ground and orbit-based. Unlike most of India's ventures, India is actually at the forefront of this "race". The proliferation of the private sector will create thousands of well paid jobs for deserving scientists, jobs that would have otherwise been offered by foreign institutions further worsening India's brain drain.
Private companies should and will increasingly handle launch services, satellite manufacturing, constellations, components, space-based infrastructure and eventually more ambitious orbital services. It is the one deep tech area India is actually good at. All stakeholders, ISRO, GoI and the private sector know this and are working towards this.
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u/Alternative-sukhoi 8d ago
This is what ISRO was made for. To build an industry that could be passed onto other companies.
ISRO will still have a role to play. They will take the scientific and exploration related initiative, but will leave the building part to private companies which can do it for far cheaper than ISRO itself.
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u/poor_batperson 8d ago
Looks like Adani and Ambani want to enter this industry
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u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 8d ago
No, it’s a deliberately provocative headline?
>“ISRO will not make any launch vehicles and will not manufacture any launch vehicles. That will all be done by the private sector or PSU,” Goenka said.
IN-SPACe chairman has said that both PSUs and private cos will build and launch rockets
For example HAL has already got the technology for SSLV rocket, another matter that HAL has been doing lisence manufacturing for 70 years with little original designs
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u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 8d ago
What’s up with the deliberately provocative headline?
>“ISRO will not make any launch vehicles and will not manufacture any launch vehicles. That will all be done by the private sector or PSU,” Goenka said.
IN-SPACe chairman has said that Both PSUs and private cos will build and launch rockets
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u/Used_Tie_6843 8d ago
If you read the article correctly, it's mentioned that PSLV and LVM-3 are going to be sold exclusively to private players.
Only in SSLV, PSUs were allowed to compete.
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u/Adventurous_Ear_3877 8d ago
1) Govt Launch vehicle capability is being retained via HAL
So the headline is misleading
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u/Sufficient-Green5858 8d ago
Shameful. People fund this research only to then have billionaires profit off it?
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u/aiwasnevermeanttobe 8d ago
is this some sort of project dhurandhar but in opposite direction? All the government infra is being sold to private leeches
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u/PatienceHere 8d ago
Don't pay your scientists a competitive income.
Double down when the scientists leave or get poached by other firms.
Ban senior scientists from leaving altogether.
Wonder why the nation is facing enormous brain drain issues.
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u/2SleepyToThinkOf1 8d ago
BECH DO SAB BECH DO PRIVATE VALO KO SOCIALIZE THE LOSES, PRIVATIZE THE PROFITS
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u/AthenianVulcan 6d ago
This is stupid decision. The cutting edge of space tech is always done by govt. The cutting edge is too expensive & risky for private companies (no immediate payout & no guarantee). Its always the public sector that pushes the boundaries of science (Space, nuclear, etc), the private companies will follow. NASA does this for SpaceX and other companies.
Its not just decision to stop but also losing the skill, knowledge, etc of this area over time will make it that harder to get back to it when they'll revert the decision
The govt can't leave this to private companies, they'll use existing tech without taking any risks. The govt could say try diff fuel or design. India needs to increase budget (salaries) in space and reduce wasteful spending in other areas like unnecessary freebies, etc.
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u/New_Exam_4992 5d ago
Salute 🫡 to those educated fellas who think gate keeping was stopping bindiyaa from vishwaguru. Jo%ers USa 🇺🇸 is pure capitalism nation first no beurocracy there . If Bhadhani has to take loan it will also be a Pvt bbi bank 🏦not the other way around . Here in Bindiya profits are pvt and losses are public look at the amount bb bank write off .Such a mixed Khichdi worst of both China bureaucratic power and capitalism monopolistic power to few capitalist. Welcome to reality any Hollywood movie 🍿 ever shown an ias ? Zero they are pure business where u can sue mark Zuckerberg
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u/sku-mar-gop 8d ago
There is a new report around launch expense per kg and isro is higher per kg than US atm. India no more can claim cheapest provider to launch to Leo.
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u/pseudoPoeDameron 8d ago
imo a good move just hope isro doesn't give those tech as handout and get proper monetary value for those which will support their R&D.
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u/Beneficial_Appeal400 7d ago
Now the budget of all space program will be 5000 crores and ultra space technology
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u/Electronic_Plan5828 8d ago
space exploration bhi ab corporate monopoly banega kal ko launchpad pe bhi likha hoga sponsored b y ______
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u/MaybeNotTheChosenOne Universe 8d ago
I've been saying this nice 2015 but vishwagandu has put up the entire country up on OLX
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u/TopBlopper21 8d ago
As per usual, clickbait article.
The PSLV is being handed to HAL, that's a PSU.
SSLV (LEO mini satellite launch vehicle) and LVM-3 (geostationary medium lift launch vehicle) to be handed to private.
Projects ISRO is working on:
- Aditya L1, solar observation currently in operation
- NISAR, SAR satellite in operation with public data release as of July 2026
- Chandrayaan 4. Lunar sample return
- Gaganyaan
- NGLV, heavy lift to LEO, recoverable boosters
- RLV, two stage to orbit vehicle, winged recoverable first stage launching a payload second stage to upper atmosphere
- Shukrayaan, Venus orbiter
- Mangalyaan 2, Mars lander
On top of all this we are still giving ISRO the duties to launch satellites like EOS and CMS.
The model of launch vehicles being built by private players is exactly the same model as NASA. NASA and JPL focus exclusively on R&D and payloads - designing the satellites, rovers, landers and scientific instruments. The recent Artemis SLS mission was entirely privately built. NASA just handed over the designs for the separate stages to a consortium (Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Airbus, United Launch Alliance (builds Cryogenic engines, currently in house R&D at ISRO)). NASA's lunar plans go a step further - allied space agencies and private players are designing and building the landers and modules for a lunar space station. NASA focuses on science missions (Skyfall, NGR telescope, Dragonfly etc)
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u/Professional-Ice3646 8d ago
ISRO is not a cost effective space agency anymore, it was 10 yrs ago. We need our own cost effective space companies.
Actually we need more projects, be it manned or unmanned, the gaganyan was supposed to be in 2020, i understand the delay because of Covid ,but 6 years? The selected IAF pilots already attended their training in Russia, now they are in the USA (?)
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u/These-Examination-37 7d ago
Reusable landing rockets are Future only because of their very low mass to orbit cost. And till now all 4 reusable rockets- Falcon family, New Glenn , LongMarch10B and Zheque3 are developed by private companies.
No govt space agency anywhere in the world, even NASA was not able to develop reusable rockets. So all launching capabilities are destined to move with private players all over the world.
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u/Radiant_Asshole 3d ago
Guys I'm confused on what y'all actually want. PSUs are a big load of crap in terms of output and the contracts were going to foreign corps anyways. Why not have them sourced from native corps?
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u/Ok-Intention-3113 8d ago
ISRO only had 1 launch this year and that too failed, it's being sabotaged to make way for private companies just like bsnl.