New Delhi, November 5: India aims to make space debris-free by 2030, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh said on Thursday as he opened a facility built by a Hyderabad startup working on removing debris from orbit.
Dr Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, and Minister of State in the PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, joined the event virtually from Kartavya Bhawan in New Delhi as chief guest. He inaugurated Base 1, the new facility of Cosmoserve Space.
Telangana’s Minister for IT and Industries, D. Sridhar Babu, attended as guest of honour.
What the Hyderabad facility will do
Cosmoserve Space works on active debris removal and in-orbit servicing of satellites. Base 1 covers about 14,800 sq ft. The inauguration was held at VSD Tech Park in Gachibowli, Hyderabad.
The company will design, build and test space robots there under space-like conditions, and run missions from a mission control room on the same premises. The facility has labs for orbital rendezvous and capture, space robotics, microgravity simulation platforms and clean rooms for satellite integration.
The startup tested soft robotic petals in space in July 2026 under Mission EMBRACE, within a year of the company being set up. It is working with Pixel on satellite systems, Dhruv Aerospace Netherlands on propulsion and Skyroot Aerospace for launch services. Dr Chiranjeevi Phanindra is the company’s founder and CEO.
Debris-free space by 2030
Dr Singh said India was emerging as an early global leader in removing space debris. He set out the goal of “debris-free Space by 2030” and described the effort as part of India’s commitment to space sustainability that reaches beyond its own borders, in keeping with the idea of “Vishwa Bandhu Bharat”.
He credited the space sector reforms under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which he said began about five to six years ago, for the growth of private players. According to the minister, the number of space startups has grown from single digits to nearly 450.
Space economy figures
Dr Singh put India’s space economy at nearly USD 9 billion and said it is projected to reach USD 40 to 45 billion in the coming decade.
He cited Gaganyaan and Chandrayaan as examples of India carrying out complex missions at lower cost, and said experience from the Gaganyaan programme was now feeding into the private sector. He also referred to the use of space technology in areas such as Gati Shakti, smart cities and disaster preparedness.
The minister said India’s space plans rest on technological self-reliance and sovereign capability, alongside international partnerships. He called for more investment from domestic and international investors and more philanthropic funding for science and research. He added that he looked forward to visiting the facility in person.
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