IIT Madras Pravartak Foundation-led Consortium to develop Technologies for Development & Commercialization of Space and Deep Space

CHENNAI: Indian Institute of Technology Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation is going to collaborate with five start-ups to develop technologies for Ecosystem Development and Commercialization of Space and Deep Space. The consortium is called ‘Indian Space Technologies and Applications Design Bureau’ (I-STAC.DB) and will develop next-generation applications.

The consortium will focus on building an end-to-end Atmanirbhar ecosystem for space technologies from on-demand access to data and space including rapid launch capability, satellite design and assembly, sensors, future generation communication such as 6G, security of satellites, Ground Stations, data processing, assimilation for communication and geo spatial application sectors.

Speaking about this consortium, Prof. Satya Chakravarthy, Head, I-STAC.DB, and Faculty, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Madras, said, “In today’s world, collaboration is the mantra. It is not possible for any one company to do all that is required for the end customer of space applications. This consortium thus naturally gravitates all such key stakeholders.”

The MoU for this path-breaking initiative was signed recently. I-STAC.DB is inviting companies in space and allied domains to join this effort. Further details can be obtained by visiting https://pravartak.org.in/istac-db

The founding members of I-STAC.DB include:

1. IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation, a Section 8 company funded by Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, under its National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems and hosted by IIT Madras.

2. Dron Vayu Pvt Ltd

3. Agnikul Cosmos Pvt Ltd

4. GalaxEye Space Solutions Pvt Ltd

5. Mindgrove Technologies Pvt Ltd

6. Resileo Labs LLP

Sharing his thoughts on the collaboration, Dr. M. J. Shankar Raman, Chief Executive Officer, IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation, said, “IIT-M Pravartak is extremely thrilled to have dynamic and young entrepreneurs to synergize their thoughts and efforts towards India based space ecosystem through this platform. It is their expression of their deep commitment and conviction that made this happen.”

The Key Outcomes and impact envisaged from I-STAC.DB in the medium and long terms include:

Ø Design of launch vehicles and spacecraft for additive manufacturing

Ø Development of mobile launch platforms on land, air, and sea

Ø Trusted, reliable and quickly repeatable satellite launch

Ø Precision navigation and ground station infrastructure

Ø Shakti processor based satellite, ground station, SDR, platforms

Ø Hyperspectral vision, photogrammetry and synthetic aperture radar sensors, sensor fusion, onboarding processing based on edge computing and deep learning in space

Ø Earth observation remote sensing, 5G/6G/7G communication, inter-satellite communication within constellations, and other satellite applications such as data storage and management, etc.

Ø Space debris management

Ø Satellite cyber-physical security and anti-satellite countermeasures

Ø Capability building and Space-data Sciences

 

The five startups, founded by young entrepreneurs, are keen to contribute to the Nation’s efforts in space technologies.

Sharing his thoughts, Mr. Manish Kukreti, Founder and Managing Director, Dron Vayu Pvt. Ltd said, said, “When we at Dron Vayu approached IIT-M PTF to seek advanced technical expertise and guidance to strengthen our endeavor to deliver a complete Eco-system of Space Program based in India, the seed idea of this consortium germinated. Since then we have been raring to be part of this consortium. This is perfectly in line with our deep commitment to provide “Best-in-Class Eco-System in Space” at most affordable costs for all our clients.”

Representing Agnikul Cosmos, Mr. Moin SPM, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, Agnikul Cosmos, said, “It is an honour to be part of this consortium. We are elated to be complementing our nation’s space program to provide flexible launch services & thereby contribute towards the vision of providing on-demand access to space.”

Mr. Suyash Singh, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, GalaxEye Space, said, “Satellites serve applications and required to be launched, maintained by several ecosystem players. Lot of knowledge sharing happens within the ecosystem which helps us accelerate the development and thus this wonderful initiative will help us build satellites of tomorrow in India and contributing towards the vision of Digital Economy through Space.”

Mr. T.R. Shashwath, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mindgrove Technologies Pvt. Ltd. said, “Precision electronics and communication systems are key to connecting the dots between Space and Earth. We are happy to share our expertise in building power aware and energy efficient multi-sensor packages and versatile communication systems in order to achieve the goals set out in the MoU.”

Mr. Pichumani Nagarajan of Resileo Lab LLP said, “Data is the biggest asset. We will bring in best of our knowledge, experience and expertise to perform meaningful assimilation of acquired data from space and its analysis.”

Highlighting the importance of such initiatives for the country, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Faculty In-Charge, IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation, and Member, National Security Advisory Board, Government of India, said, “Time has come to pool the talent available in our country to synergise and deliver a complete end to end ecosystem for space and allied technologies”. He added saying that, “Indian Space Technocrats are established space technology Gurus, and this consortium is a Guru Kul, a premium knowledge centre for India and the world to tap.”