India's first private spacecraft manufacturing facility launched in Bengaluru

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S Somanath inaugurated India's first private spacecraft manufacturing facility.

Ananth Technologies Private Limited opened India's largest private spacecraft manufacturing facility in Bengaluru on Wednesday. In terms of infrastructure, the launch will make private spacecraft manufacturing in India easier.

Spacecrafts can now be manufactured and tested in Bengaluru's new facility. (Pic for representation) (REUTERS)

S Somanath, chairman of the ISRO, officially opened the spacecraft production facility. With four independent modules existing within the 15,000 sqm facility, four enormous spacecraft can be assembled, integrated and tested at the same time.

The facility is located at the Aerospace Park of the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board. All four components of the facility are self-contained and capable of performing end-to-end integration of processes in four different spacecraft classes.

The ISRO, in a statement, said that this is a first-of-its-kind facility in India and that Ananth Technologies has contributed to the manufacturing of 89 satellites and 69 launch vehicles built/launched by ISRO since its establishment in 1992, including two satellites for European customers that ISRO built in collaboration with Airbus, France.

"I am certain that India's space policy will enable us to build satellites not only for domestic consumption but for international market too," Somanath said.

"India's Remote Sensing Data Policy and Launch Vehicle Policy are in line and these will help further the Indian Space programmes. ANANTH Technologies has taken a huge leap of faith and India needs more such entrepreneurs and many more such partners to revolutionise our space programme," he added.

(With Inputs from PTI)