4 days ago

India Targets 50 Space Launches a Year by 2030, Says IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Goenka

India is targeting 50 space launches annually by 2030 as the country seeks to expand its launch capacity and build a globally competitive commercial space ecosystem, IN-SPACe Chairman Pawan Goenka said.

Reflecting on the transformation of India’s space sector since its opening to greater private-sector participation five years ago, Goenka said the policy shift was driven by two objectives: enabling the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to pursue new frontiers while giving private industry the opportunity to scale its capabilities.

According to Goenka, both objectives are now beginning to take shape, with ISRO continuing to undertake increasingly ambitious missions while India’s private space ecosystem has expanded rapidly.

“Five years ago, when India opened up its space sector, we had two clear objectives: enable ISRO to conquer new frontiers and empower our private industry to scale up. Today, we are seeing both take shape,” Goenka said.

He highlighted EOS-05 as a major achievement for ISRO and said the mission represented only the beginning of India’s expanding space capabilities.

At the same time, India’s private space sector has grown from a handful of companies to more than 450 space startups, according to Goenka. Indian private industry has also demonstrated the ability to develop and launch rockets to orbit, signalling a shift from early-stage experimentation towards commercial-scale operations.

Scaling Becomes the Next Challenge

Goenka said the next major challenge for India’s space industry is scaling up. The target of 50 launches annually by 2030 would require substantially greater capacity across the entire space supply chain, including launch vehicles, satellites, components, testing facilities and launch infrastructure.

“A goal of this scale cannot be achieved by one organisation alone. Government and private industry have to build this future together,” he said.

Under this model, ISRO’s role will continue to focus on research, technology development and pushing the boundaries of what is technically possible, while private companies will increasingly be expected to translate those advances into large-scale manufacturing and commercial deployment.

Goenka identified the need for more rockets, satellites, launch capacity and new technologies as critical elements of the expansion. The proposed increase in launch frequency is part of a broader ambition to establish India as an end-to-end space services hub.

The objective, according to Goenka, is to develop sufficient domestic capacity to build spacecraft and launch vehicles in India, launch them from Indian facilities and provide space-based services to global customers.

Achieving 50 launches a year would represent a substantial increase in India’s current launch cadence and would require coordinated growth across government agencies, private launch companies, satellite manufacturers, component suppliers and other space-sector enterprises.

“The opportunity before us is immense: build in India, launch from India and serve the world from India,” Goenka said. The target underscores the increasingly important role expected to be played by India’s private space industry as the country seeks to move from a predominantly government-led space programme towards a larger, commercially driven and globally integrated space ecosystem.

By Subramanya Joshi