ISRO Wants To Outsource Satellite Assembly To Other Organisations, BEL And Alpha Design Shortlisted

With a market demand for 45 satellites, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has begun the process of outsourcing satellite assembly work.

Two Bangalore based firms Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Alpha Design have been shortlisted by the agency.

ISRO had floated an expression of Interest last March to find vendors who can start satellite assembly work and then slowly graduate to full-scale manufacturing after absorbing necessary technologies.

ISRO says there could be a demand for over 5,000 satellites in the global market - the bulk of this demand would come from CubeSats or very small satellites that will operate in the low earth orbit. (Also Read: Explained: What Are CubeSats and Why They Are Taking Off In The Satellite Market)

The space agency has been ramping up launch rates of its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). It also wants to quickly develop a smaller version of the rocket especially used for launching CubeSats and smaller payloads.