Rajat Kulshrestha, CEO of Space Machines Company, sees immense potential in India’s emerging commercial space industry. In a recent interview, Kulshrestha shared his views on the company’s plans and the evolving landscape of India’s space sector.
“We are targeting 2026 as the launch for our second spacecraft which will launch on a dedicated SSLV rocket which is provided by NSIL,” he said. This ambitious timeline underscores the company’s commitment to expanding its presence in the space industry.
Kulshrestha noted growing interest from both customers and investors in India’s space sector: “We’re getting very strong demand signals from the customer side but also very strong signals from the capital markets to invest in the future of space,” he said, before adding: “There is a recognition that over the next three to five years this is going to be a place of great commercial opportunity.”
The CEO also underlines the evolving relationship between government space organizations and private industry in India.

“There’s a transition happening where private industry and commercial space is being encouraged,” Kulshrestha explained. He mentioned positive interactions with key Indian space agencies, stating: “We’ve had some great conversations with ISRA on their views on commercialization and bringing new startups and the larger commercial space industry into taking more and more on.”
Kulshrestha sees potential for collaboration between India and Australia in the space sector, too.
“India also has a long heritage of space and some of the constraints that the Indian Space Program had to go through in the late 90s — Australia being a young to space industry is having to go through — there’s a lot to learn between the two countries.”
As India’s space industry continues to evolve, Space Machines Company is positioning itself to be at the forefront of this transformation. Kulshrestha concluded: “We want to be early; we want to be part of that initial wave and hence we’re starting to work very closely with India.”
Featured image: Credit: Space Machines Company
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