Buzz on space privatisation upstages ISRO’s moment of glory

This article is part of Space Wrap, a round-up of space news and developments in and related to India every month

The successful predawn launch of the advanced earth observation satellite EOS-05, on board the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket on September 4, 2026 from the spaceport in Sriharikota brought considerable relief for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO): it had finally successfully launched a rocket and place a satellite in orbit after a gap of nearly eight months.

However, even before it could celebrate the success of the F17 mission, a group of employees working in various centers of the space agency wrote to the ISRO chairman, V. Narayanan, seeking a clarification on the official government policy regarding privatisation, the transfer of ISRO manufacturing and operational functions, its future role in the Indian space programme, and the impact on serving and future employees.

Also, on the same day of the GSLV-F17 launch, the Joint Action Council (JAC), representing nine ISRO employees’ associations, sought clarification from Dr. Narayanan on a statement by Pawan Kumar Goenka — the chairman of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) — at a media summit: that “ISRO will not make any launch vehicles and will not manufacture any launch vehicles. That will all be done by the private sector or public-sector undertaking.”

The JAC also wrote in a strongly worded letter that while they were not against private participation, they would also not accept without debate a policy that they said could reduce ISRO to a residual R&D boutique.

In response, ISRO — which had until then maintained a studied silence on various issues pertaining to the agency’s functioning as well as the findings of the Failure Analysis Committee (FAC) report on the two launch failures that created the launch hiatus — issued a clarification. It dubbed the assertions to be completely baseless and incorrect, and said ISRO will neither be privatised nor will its importance be diminished.

Mr. Goenka also said ISRO will continue to remain the bedrock of the Indian space sector while IN-SPACe will facilitate greater non-governmental participation and NewSpace India, Ltd. (NSIL) would help with commercialisation. In addition to this, Dr. Narayanan also addressed ISRO employees in a video conference.

However, these outreach efforts did not quell the JAC’s concerns, and the body issued another notice seeking an official inquiry into the allegations of sabotage in the two consecutive PSLV failures, which happened on May 18, 2025, and January 12, 2026.

This second notice also said private participation must strengthen ISRO, not replace it, and sought expanded production capabilities at the organisation without also weakening it, and strengthening its R&D and administrative systems. The associations also demanded that the Joint Consultative Machinery be reinstated, that the Central Civil Services (Recognition of Service Associations) Rule 1993 be rescinded, and to endeavour against the erosion of promotional avenues and to not act against association activists.

International efforts

Aside from dealing with the HR situation back home, ISRO also strengthened its international cooperation. Dr. Narayanan participated in the International Space Summit in Paris and signed documents with the European Space Agency to extend the longstanding cooperation agreement between the two space agencies for five more years, until January 8, 2032.

The agencies have included space weather, human and robotic exploration and sustainability of space activities as new areas of cooperation.

At the BRICS New Delhi Declaration 2026, the participating countries recognised the importance of international cooperation in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space and of space systems. They also reiterated their commitment to reducing existing asymmetries in space capabilities among the BRICS countries.

The BRICS bloc today comprises Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates.

IN-SPACe also engaged in dialogue with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Myanmar Space Agency, the National Space Agency of Singapore, and the Ambassador of Italy to India to strengthen bilateral ties and expand collaboration across commercial space, technologies, investments, and industry partnerships.

Two tests

Next, ISRO also carried out a couple of crucial hot-tests involving cryogenic and semi cryogenic engines. Specifically, it hot-tested the cryogenic engine identified for the seventh operational mission of the LVM-3 launch vehicle, called (LVM-M7), before its flight acceptance.

In this test, the liquid oxygen tank pressurisation module, meant for the C32 engine stage for the Gaganyaan mission, was also successfully demonstrated.

The other hot-test successfully qualified the semi-cryogenic engine power head test article (PHTA) at the full thrust level of 200 tonnes. This marked the first time the PHTA had been tested at 100% of its level. Previous tests had been conducted at 47% (94 tonnes), 60% (120 tonnes), and 88% (175 tonnes).

The PHTA contains all the semi-cryogenic engine’s systems except the thrust chamber.

Private sector

On the private front: GalaxEye, the space technology startup incubated at IIT-Madras, reported that it had been granted a patent in the U.S. for the core technology behind its OptoSAR imaging capabilities. As a result, it became the first Indian startup to receive a U.S. patent for a satellite imaging technology.

The U.S. patent covers GalaxEye’s invention of the architecture and systems used to align and synchronise optical and microwave sensors for the instrument’s spatially and temporally matched data acquisition.

Another firm, Pixxel, based in Bengaluru, announced that it had closed its Series C funding round at $100 million, co-led by Temasek and Seraphim, with participation from new investors 360 ONE Asset and IMM Investment, plus existing investors Radical Ventures and growX ventures.

The round brought Pixxel’s total funding to $195 million.

Finally, IN-SPACe has released the norms, guidelines, and procedures towards implementing the Indian Space Policy 2023 — this time vis-à-vis Indian payloads on Indian and foreign launch missions.