Companies working with ISRO do not do so with a profit motive: ISRO chairman

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been able to conduct space programmes at a low cost because suppliers working with the organisation do not have a profit motive, said Dr Sreedhara Panicker Somanath, Chairman, ISRO.

“The most important reason for low cost [of ISRO missions] is our industry itself. I have to thank them,” said Dr Somanath, at TechSparks 2024, YourStory’s flagship startup-tech conference in Bengaluru.

“Everyone who works for ISRO is not with a profit motive. It is something phenomenal I must say the biggest companies work with us because of the passion we have created.”

He also said that owing to their association with ISRO, these suppliers have been able to scale up and go global. 

“They love to work with ISRO because working with ISRO gives them an edge in terms of skilling and knowledge, in terms of their ability to handle more complex projects for other customers," he said. "Because through the process of working with us they are able to scale up."

This has helped keep the hardware costs low, thereby helping ISRO focus on more complex processes like analytical modelling and simulations, Dr Somanath pointed out.