SpaceX has been had at work for the past few years, sending satellites to fill out its low Earth orbiting constellation that aims to provide affordable, high speed- low latency internet to everyone in the world. However, a project like this requires global participation, and India, one of the most promising countries in the space game, will now become a part of SpaceX’s mission. The company has said that it plans to partner with Indian companies to help manufacture satellite communications equipment (or as they are more commonly called, satcom) including antenna systems and user terminal devices.
The news was announced by Matt Botwin, director of Global Satellite Government Affairs at SpaceX, who said, “SpaceX is excited to find ways to work together with the Indian industry for manufacturing products for its Starlink devices.”
Moreover, he also pointed that SpaceX has already been working with Indian companies for quite some time, buying steel and steel-tubing for many of its rockets.
India, a country where the space sector was limited to just the government organizations up until a few years ago, has recently opened it up for private players, which has led to great innovation and the rise of companies like Agnikul, Pixxel and Skyroot. The country has been growing exponentially when it comes to space based capabilities, and thus, it’s no surprise that Elon Musk led company is keen to make use of this promise.
At present, multiple companies like SpaceX, OneWeb and Jeff Bezos led Blue Origin are trying to enter India’s nascent satellite broadband space.
SpaceX, being the biggest player in the game by a huge margin, has already announced pre orders for Starlink in India, and is set to launch services in the country by next year. This gives it a huge advantage over other players, which are still years behind the Elon Musk led company.
Moreover, a partnership like this with the Indian space sector will not only help improve the company improve its manufacturing capabilities, but also strengthen its place in the second largest internet market in the world.
Elon Musk has been showing more and more interest in India over the past few months, and has already announced that Tesla ,the company that made him the household name that he’s become, will also be coming to India.
