India to set up common space testing facilities in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu for private firms

New Delhi: With increased private participation in the space sector, the Department of Space has approved the creation of two pay-and-use common testing facilities in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat for companies to evaluate their systems and components for satellites and payloads.

These may be the first two of several such centres, as around 10 states have expressed interests in establishing similar space manufacturing clusters that would help build a space industrial base, the Indian National Space Promotion and authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) said in a statement.

The Department of Space has sanctioned Rs 100 crore to set up a space vehicle common testing facility centre at Thoothukudi for which Tamil Nadu government will provide necessary land and building.

The approval comes in the wake of the southern state’s proposal to set up a space vehicle cluster in Thoothukudi, with a focus on manufacturing, testing and integration of launch vehicle systems because of the proximity to India’s second space port at Kulasekharapatnam.

The Tamil Nadu government’s plan to create the cluster stems from the fact that the upcoming launch pad will be used extensively by private firms for launch on-demand satellites using small satellite launch vehicles.

The facility will cater to critical manufacturing and integration requirements, including structural testing, propulsion validation, and full-system integration. The planned infrastructure includes vibration, shock, pressure, and flow testing systems, thermal vacuum testing, and specialised assembly units.

In Gujarat, the state government has identified a parcel of land near Ahmedabad for developing a space manufacturing cluster for which a common technical facility will come up at Khoraj, housing advanced, capital-intensive infrastructure required for the realisation spacecraft systems .

The cluster would focus on spacecraft, payload systems and space-based applications, supporting the end-to-end development and testing of spacecraft components and payloads, the IN-SPACe said.

“The private space industries including startups, MSME and large industries will be able to access these facilities without having to invest and operate similar facility in their own premises,” said Pawan Kumar Goenka, chairman, IN-SPACe.