New Delhi: Is the condition of satellite launch market really not good? Satellite launch rockets are available but there is no demand for it. ISRO chief S Somnath believes something similar. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman S Somnath has said that the condition of satellite launch market is bad worldwide. He also highlighted that rockets are available and waiting for demand. He said that usually people do not understand. They think that if they make low-cost rockets then people will come. But the situation is not like this.
Production of a limited number of good satellites
The ISRO chief, under whose leadership India completed its difficult Chandrayaan-2 mission last year, believes that the main reason for the current situation is that only a limited number of good satellites have been built in the world. Somnath's remarks came in response to questions posed by select people at a dialogue organised by Bengaluru-based think tank Synergia Foundation last week.Will this competition end soon?
Third world countries like Brazil, Argentina and Saudi Arabia were building satellites and competing fiercely. India has launched 435 satellites of other countries so far and this is a good number. This year India will launch four satellites of other countries. This number is less because the launch capacity is three times more than the demand.
What if we just built rockets?
S Somnath said that a startup can say that it has 10 rockets, but unless we create demand, there is no point in making high-end rockets. He stressed on demand. He said that in ISRO we have PSLV, but the demand is not the same. Rockets are being made and kept in stock, but customers are not being found.
What is America's story?
The situation is the same in the US. In the US, only SpaceX is doing it because it has enough rockets and it has to make a business for itself. So it launches its satellites itself. He said SpaceX is able to do 60-70 launches a year because it is launching 90% of its satellites on its own.
