India's moon mission spurs startups to join space race

Private companies venture into state-dominated aerospace industry

20190709 India space program

India's space agency ISRO is set to launch its Chandrayaan 2 spacecraft to the moon on July 15.  © AP

ROSEMARY MARANDI, Nikkei staff writer

MUMBAI -- India's ambitious space program has spurred a number of local startups to try and build an ecosystem for the industry, which has traditionally been dominated by state-owned companies.

There are at least nine startups working in such areas as the production of small satellites and their launch vehicles, sending small satellite constellations to low Earth orbit and even planning their own moon mission.

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