Vaanam: New Accelerator Sets to Propel Indian Space Startups

The success of ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 has inspired startups to venture into the Indian space sector. Former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan and Tamil Nadu Minister TRB Rajaa advocate for celebrating these achievements. The new space technology accelerator Vaanam aims to nurture startups by offering expertise, seed funding, and forging educational partnerships.

The historic success of ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 mission has catalyzed interest from several startups aiming to enter India's growing space sector, said former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan.

Highlighting the achievements of ISRO, Tamil Nadu Minister for Industries TRB Rajaa stressed that the contributions of space scientists should be widely celebrated.

Both Rajaa and Narayanan participated in the launch of Vaanam, a space technology accelerator founded by Sameer Bharat Ram and Hariharan Vedamurthy, focused on nurturing startups with seed funding and expert guidance.

Ram revealed that they are evaluating about six startups this year. The Indian space economy, currently pegged at $13 billion, is expected to reach $44 billion in a decade, he stated.

Nambi Narayanan and actor Madhavan, who portrayed Narayanan in the film 'Rocketry,' have joined the Board of Vaanam Space Tech Accelerator.

Narayanan emphasized the need for today's startups to go beyond what ISRO achieved 50 years ago to compete globally.

He also proposed the idea of establishing an Asia Aeronautics Space Agency, involving Asian nations, akin to NASA in the U.S.

The Chennai startup ecosystem ranks third in space sector engagement, Rajaa noted, with the majority based in Bengaluru.

Narayanan advocated for academic institutions to partner with space agencies to foster education in space technology among students and proposed the creation of a space exploration facility for student interaction.

Minister Raja highlighted the DMK government's 'Naan Mudhalvan' scheme, aimed at encouraging youth to explore opportunities in various sectors, including space.

Vaanam Co-founder Vedamurthy outlined the challenges faced by the space sector, such as budget constraints and technology gaps, and emphasized Vaanam's mission to bridge commercialization gaps for startups.

(With inputs from agencies.)