New Delhi, March 18 As Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed India's space startup journey at the American podcaster Lex Fridman's mega show, Indian Air Force (IAF) Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla -- set to become the first Indian to reach the International Space Station (ISS) soon -- told IANS on Tuesday that domestic startups in the space sector are growing at an unprecedented rate.
Shukla, who hails from Lucknow and will become the first Indian astronaut to travel to the orbiting lab on a private mission, praised the exceptional talent in the country which is driving the space startup economy.
The 39-year-old astronaut -- selected as the pilot for the US-based company Axiom Space’s Mission 4 (Ax-4) -- a collaborative mission between NASA and ISRO -- also asserted India’s position as a spacefaring nation and lauded the Indian Space Policy-2023, for augmenting space capabilities in the country.
Axiom Space is expected to launch the mission from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, using a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, in May.
"The rate at which the startups in India are growing is unprecedented," Shukla told IANS in an interaction from Axiom Space's headquarters in Houston, Texas, adding that this is set "to increase even more in the coming years because we have exceptional talent in the country".
He noted that, unlike previous times, the country "now has a very clear vision or a policy" for the space sector.
"The Indian Space Policy 2023 laid out a very clear framework of where India wants to go in the future, laying out programmes, their extensions, and then possibly a landing on the Moon by 2040," added Shukla.
Calling the impending space missions "audacious or very big dreams", he said that in the process of achieving these, the country is "enabling an entire ecosystem".
He also mentioned the "huge demand for technology and expertise in the space sector" which is giving startups the right platform.
"I think the recipe is right. We have all the ingredients, and they are all coming together. And this is going to increase in the future," Shukla said.
Notably, PM Modi, in his recent interview with Fridman, highlighted how his government has opened the space industry to private sector, which led to over 200 startups working in the cutting-edge space technology.
The Prime Minister also hailed the cost-effective missions, especially the Chandrayaan mission, which "cost less than what Hollywood spends making a single blockbuster film". The PM also stated that the frugal innovation "generates respect for Indian talent globally".
According to Shukla, "India has always been a spacefaring nation", and it took the country time to come to a stage to be able to "have our own technology, launch vehicle, the satellites, and ground stations for all aspects of the space mission".
He said that ISRO is respected worldwide for achieving complex missions, at a very nominal cost.
"Now having the pace that we have built up over these years, I think we are utilising them to take a leap into the extremely challenging domain of human spaceflight missions," he said, expressing confidence in the country’s talent to succeed.
During the Axiom space mission, lasting up to 14 days, the crew will conduct scientific experiments, outreach programmes, and commercial activities in microgravity.
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