Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin sets sight on India's space tourism potential

Industry sources say reusable launch vehicles are key to India's space tourism plan as they will make the entire business economical

India’s plan to start space tourism by 2030 may soon get a boost with the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) entering discussions with global majors for tie-ups. Source aware of the development say several rounds of talks have taken place between the Indian space authorities and American aerospace major Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Interestingly, on Thursday, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had cleared the Indian Space Policy 2023, opening doors for private players in the sector. The policy is expected to be a major boost for academia, start-ups and the industry.

“Space tourism is a commercial activity. We are also looking at private players, if they are interested. If industry comes forward for tech development, we are open to assistance and mentorship. Blue Origin was discussing it from a commercial point of view, not for joint development and establishing facilities in India,” said a source. Blue Origin didn't respond to questions from Business Standard. A team of officials from Blue Origin met the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (INSPACe), as a centre to coordinate between private space firms and Isro.

Last month, Isro chairman S Somnath had reportedly indicated that space tourism may kick off in India by 2030 and the estimated cost may be about 'Rs six crore.'

According to industry sources, reusable launch vehicles are key to India’s space tourism plan as they will make it economical. As a first step towards that, on April 2, Isro successfully tested Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX) at the Aeronautical Test Range in Chitradurga, Karnataka. At present, Elon Musk's SpaceX is the only entity that has reusable space vehicles. “Reusable is cost effective, otherwise who will come to you? It is not practical for two people to come and go,” the source added.

“There was a huge increase in space tourists in 2021 and 2022, primarily through Amazon and there is a lot of interest in this internationally. In India, it may take time and our capability will get proven once Isro’s human space mission gets completed,” said A K Bhatt, Director General, Indian Space Association (ISpA).

However, India’s plan is still in the initial stage. “As of now, Gaganyaan is the approved plan. Space tourism, whether it’s Isro or industry through public private partnership mode has to be discussed. It requires a long approval cycle,” the source said.

At present, companies like Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, Blue Origin, Orion Span, Boeing. Space Adventures and Zero 2 Infinity are engaged in space tourism globally. According to data shared by ISpA, some 13 tourists have visited the International Space Station since 2001 and 27 people have had suborbital rides so far through various firms.

India’s human space mission Gaganyaan is already on track. As of March, the four astronauts, who are reportedly Indian Air Force (IAF) test pilots, have completed their first semester of crew training. So far, 39 weeks of training activities have been completed. Before the programme kicks off, these astronauts will also be sent to either Russia or the US for formal training.

Plan in the orbit

• The Indian Space Policy 2023 is expected to be a major boost for academia and industry, including start-ups
• Reusable launch vehicles are key to India’s space tourism plan
• So far, 39 weeks of training activities have been completed
• At present, only SpaceX has reusable space vehicles