From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Nov 17: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S Somanath on Thursday said about 100 start-ups were registered with them and were working closely in various domains of the space sector.

Addressing a plenary session in Bengaluru at the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2022 on ‘R&D of India – Innovation for Global Impact’ on Thursday, he said ISRO has signed MoUs with companies to work closely which include hand holding in space technology and building processes from start to finish. He said a significant number of companies have the potential to become big players in the space sector and ISRO is playing the role of facilitator and helping in building technologies.

Somanath said out of 100 start-ups at least 10 are working on developing satellites and rockets. The ISRO Chairman announced that Chandrayaan-3 mission will be in orbit in a few months adding that ISRO is working closely with NASA in space technology areas. He said the computer that was used in the rocket for the mission was made in India. In his brisk presentation, he said space tourism has picked in the world with start-ups evincing interest in various applications which impact the day-to-day activities. He said ISRO is playing an important role in smart city projects and smart manufacturing processes.

He said some of the areas that ISRO is working on include bringing back satellite technology, propulsion systems used in engine manufacturing which have been successfully tested.

Green and hybrid propulsion system, nuclear propulsion, launch of small rockets with the use of additive technologies, energy storage systems, functional materials, carbon fiber technology, electronic devices, robotics, drone technologies, quantum technology used in encryption and disruptive technologies.

Earlier, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2020 and French microbiologist Dr Emmanuelle Charpentier, who is Scientific and Managing Director of Max Planck Unit, Science of Pathogens in Berlin gave a presentation on “A research journey towards the CRISPR-Cas genome engineering technology.’’