Lok Sabha Question No. 3669 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-22
Subject: New Space Research Centre
Ministry: SPACE
Asked by: Nihal Chand Chauhan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF SPACE

## LOK SABHA

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2023

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3669 NEW SPACE RESEARCH CENTRE

## 3669.  SHRI NIHAL CHAND:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- (a) The  extant  number  of  research  centres  of  Indian  Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in the country, State/UT-wise;
- (b) The  status  of  the  country  in  the  space  research  sector  in comparison to other countries;
- (c) Whether the Union Government is contemplating to set up new Space Research Centres in other parts of the country as well, if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) The progress made in the Indian Space Research sector during the last five years?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES & PENSIONS AND IN THE PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE (DR. JITENDRA SINGH):

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O.I.H.

## (a) Indian Space Research Organization under Department of Space has  its  Research  Centers/Units  spread  throughout  the  country with following distribution:

| Centres/Units/Liaison Office                    | State          | Number   |
|-------------------------------------------------|----------------|----------|
| Regional Remote Sensing Centre [RRSC] (West)    | Rajasthan      | 3        |
| Solar Observatory                               |                |          |
| Infrared Observatory                            |                |          |
| Space Applications Centre                       | Gujarat        | 2        |
| Physical Research Laboratory                    |                |          |
| Delhi Earth station                             | Delhi          | 2        |
| [RRSC] (North)                                  |                |          |
| Indian Institute of Remote Sensing              | Uttarakhand    | 1        |
| ISTRAC Ground Station                           | Uttar Pradesh  | 1        |
| Regional Remote Sensing Centre [RRSC] (East)    | West Bengal    | 1        |
| North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) | Meghalaya      | 1        |
| Regional Remote Sensing Centre [RRSC] (Central) | Maharashtra    | 1        |
| Master Control Facility (Bhopal)                | Madhya Pradesh | 1        |
| National Remote Sensing Centre [NRSC]           | Telangana      | 1        |

| Centres/Units/Liaison Office                                        | State          | Number   |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------|----------|
| Satish Dhawan Space Centre [SDSC]                                   | Andhra Pradesh | 2        |
| National Atmospheric Research laboratory [NARL]                     |                |          |
| U R Rao satellite Centre [URSC]                                     | Karnataka      | 6        |
| Human Spaceflight Centre [HSFC]                                     |                |          |
| ISRO Telemetry , Tracking and Command Network [ISTRAC]              |                |          |
| Regional Remote Sensing Centre [RRSC] (South)                       |                |          |
| Master Control Facility [MCF]                                       |                |          |
| Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre                                        | Kerala         | 4        |
| Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre [LPSC]                             |                |          |
| ISRO Inertial Systems Unit [IISU] Indian Institute of Space Science |                |          |
| and Technology [IIST]                                               |                |          |
| ISRO Propulsion Complex [IPRC]                                      | Tamil Nadu     | 1        |
| Down range Station                                                  | Andaman &      | 1        |

| Centres/Units/Liaison Office   | State           | Number   |
|--------------------------------|-----------------|----------|
|                                | Nicobar Islands |          |

- (b) India is the fifth amongst spacefaring nations having end-to-end capabilities  in  space  research  and  development,  including  the capability to launch from our own land and operate programs of earth observation, satellite communication, meteorology, space science & navigation and ground infrastructure. Now, NewSpace industries are also emerging at fast pace after space sector reforms.
- (c) As  of  now,  there  are  no  specific  plans  to  set  up  new  space research centres in other parts of country.
- (d) During the last five years, significant progress has been made in the Indian Space Research sector. Some of the major achievements are listed below:
-  24 satellite missions and 20 Launch Vehicle missions have been successfully accomplished during the period, besides a technology demonstrator mission -the successful  Pad  Abort  Test  (PAT)  to  qualify  the  Crew Escape System (CES) in July 2018.
-  In June 2018, India announced a capacity building training programme UNNATI (UNispace Nanosatellite Assembly & Training by ISRO) on Nanosatellites development through a  combination  of  theoretical  coursework  and  hands-on training  on  Assembly,  Integration  and  Testing  (AIT). First batch  of  UNNATI  Programme  was  conducted  from  15 th

January to 15 th  March 2019 wherein 30 participants from 17  countries  had  benefitted.  Second  batch  was  held  in Oct-Dec  2019.  The  third  batch  was  conducted  between October  15,  2022,  and  December  15,  2022.  Thirty-one participants from 19 countries attended the training.

-  India's second mission to Moon,  Chandrayaan-2  was successfully launched on July 22, 2019 on-board GSLV Mk III-M1,  first  operational  flight  of  this  new  launch  vehicle. Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter is providing valuable science data for the research community.
-  The launch of  PSLV-C48/  RISAT-2BR1  in  December,  2019 marked  the  50 th   launch  of  PSLV,  the  workhorse  launch vehicle.
-  In  2019,  ISRO  launched  an  annual  special  programme called "Young Scientist Programme" or the "YUva VIgyani KAryakram"  (YUVIKA),  in  line  with  the  Government's vision  "Jai  Vigyan,  Jai  Anusandhan'.  The  Program  is primarily  aimed  at  imparting  basic  knowledge  on  Space Technology, Space Science and Space Applications to the young talents with the intent of encouraging them in the fascinating domain  of outer space.  Second  batch  of YUVIKA programme was held in May 2022, with the third edition planned in May 2023.
-  NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) was incorporated in 2019, as  a  wholly  owned  Government  of  India  Undertaking/ Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE), under the

administrative  control  of  Department  of  Space  (DOS),  to high-technology to commercially exploit the products and services emanating the enable Indian Industries to scale up manufacturing base for space programme and from the Indian Space Programme for meeting domestic and global customer needs

-  On  June  26,  2020,  the  Government  of  India  announced Space Sector Reforms - a major transformation of Indian Space  Sector with enhanced  participation of private players in Indian space programme and playing key roles to boost India's market share in Global Space Economy.
-  Setting up of Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) and enhancing the role of New Space India Limited (NSIL) are the two major thrust areas in the Reform.
- The  establishment  of  IN-SPACe  was  announced  in  June 2020 by Government of India, as a single window agency under  the  Department  of  Space,  to  create  eco-system  of industry,  academia  and  start-ups  and  to  attract  major share  in  the  global  space  economy,  by  authorizing  and regulating  activities  of  NGEs  in  space  sector  through
-  detailed guidelines and procedures.
-  A dedicated ISRO System of Safe and Sustainable Space Operations  Management (IS 4 OM)  has  been  established  in July,  2022  to  collate  all  Space  Situational  Awareness

- efforts in India and to act as a hub for the relevant data exchanges and collaborations.
-  LVM3 (GSLV MkIII) M2/OneWeb India-1 Mission was successfully  accomplished  on  23rd  October  2022.  With this launch, LVM3 exemplifies Atmanirbharata and enhances India's competitive edge in the global commercial launch service market.
-  Launch  of Vikram-S  (Prarambh  mission), a suborbital launch  vehicle  from  M/s.  Skyroot  Aerospace  Pvt.  Ltd., Hyderabad, was accomplished successfully on 18 th November 2022.
-  First private launchpad & mission control center established by M/s. Agnikul Cosmos Pvt. Ltd., Chennai in ISRO campus at Sathish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota on 25th November 2022. Agnilet Semicryogenic rocket engine developed by Agnikul was successfully hot tested at ISRO facility on 04th November 2022.
- HAL  and  L&T  consortia  have  been  identified  as  Indian Industry  partner  for  end-to-end  production  of  5  Nos.  of
-  PSLV.
- On  February  10 th ,  2023,  the  successful  flight  of  Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV - D2) took place, launching three satellites - EOS-07, Janus-1 and AzaadiSAT-2 - into
-  their intended orbits.

-  AzaadiSAT-2 - an 8.7 kg satellite built as a combined effort of  about  750  girl  students  across  India  guided  by  Space Kidz India, Chennai, was launched aboard SSLV-D2
-  On March 7 th , 2023, controlled re-entry experiment for the decommissioned  Megha-Tropiques-1  (MT-1)  satellite  was carried  out  successfully,  with  final  impact  in  the  Pacific Ocean, demonstrating the nation's continued efforts towards  ensuring  the  long-term  sustainability  of  outer space activities.
-  Large research projects are being undertaken by ISRO in all advanced technology domains such as Space transportation systems, propulsion systems, Artificial Intelligence,  Quantum  Communication,  etc.  across  all ISRO  centres  and  also  in  collaboration  with  research institutes and industries.

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