Introduction: India establishes new design lab for space start-ups: India has established a new design lab in Ahmedabad that aims to facilitate space sector start-ups in converting their inventive concepts into practical models at a faster pace. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre’s (IN-SPACe) Space Systems Design Lab has advanced analysis and simulation software, including mission simulation, spacecraft and payload modelling and optimisation, and ground station and launch vehicle avionics. According to Pawan Goenka, Chairman of IN-SPACe, the lab’s resources will help start-ups to build prototypes with fewer iterations, resulting in significant cost savings on research and development.
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Boosting non-governmental entities’ role in the space sector
The ISRO Chairman S Somanath inaugurated the Space Systems Design Lab in Ahmedabad, which is expected to strengthen the role of non-government entities (NGEs) in developing cutting-edge space technologies. Somanath believes that such facilities will help increase the scale of the space economy from the present two percent to ten percent of the global economy. He expressed ISRO’s commitment to working with NGEs in achieving this objective. The lab has 16 workstations as well as high-performance computing multi-core servers (up to 400 cores) and a variety of software resources for mission planning, RF design, and thermal design and analysis of space systems.
Seed fund scheme for early-stage space start-ups
IN-SPACe will provide practical training and workshops to non-government entities to use these software packages through the space systems design lab. The lab’s goal is to help space start-ups convert their innovative ideas into onboard implementable modules. By using the lab, start-ups can visualize and validate their designs before the actual production phase, reducing their turnaround time and research costs. IN-SPACe previously announced a Rs 1 crore seed fund scheme to assist early-stage space start-ups that use space technology to address the sector’s upstream, midstream, and downstream challenges.