Reusable rockets are changing space travel. India needs to catch up
In 2017, Isro made history by launching 104 satellites on one PSLV rocket. Four years later, SpaceX beat that record by launching 143 satellites on one Falcon 9 rocket. Sending many satellites together is one way to save money.
But there is an even better way. Instead of throwing away a rocket after one flight, bring it back safely and use it again. The first stage of a rocket is the most expensive part. Reusing it again and again makes space launches much cheaper.
This is what SpaceX does better than anyone else. It launches so many reusable rockets that, on average, one of its rockets goes into space every two days. That has made SpaceX the world’s biggest satellite launch company.
Other countries do not want to be left behind. Blue Origin has built its reusable New Glenn rocket. China recently showed that its Long March 10B rocket can also be reused. Japan successfully tested a smaller reusable rocket a day later. Europe is working on its Themis reusable vehicle, and Russia hopes to have its own reusable rocket ready by 2028.
Why is everyone rushing? Because thousands of new satellites are expected to be launched over the next few years. Experts at Goldman Sachs say that about 70,000 satellites could be placed in low Earth orbit by 2030. More than 53,000 of them may come from China alone. That is why China is moving so quickly.
There is also a lot of money to be made. The satellite launch business is already worth about $18 billion and is growing by around 10% every year. Satellites are becoming important for new technologies like self-driving cars. Depending on another country’s company to launch these satellites may not always be a good idea. That is one reason Honda even tested its own reusable rocket last year, and the test was successful.
So where is India? India was once famous for offering cheap satellite launches. But even the cheapest one-time-use rocket cannot compete with a reusable rocket, which works like a taxi that can carry passengers again and again. India’s share of the satellite launch market has now fallen below 2%.
As The Times of India reported on Saturday, India’s Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV), which is expected to be reusable, has still not reached its final design and testing stage. Since SpaceX took about 15 years to perfect this technology, India cannot afford to waste any more time.
Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author’s own.
