Letter sent after GSLV launch: ISRO staff question trajectory of space privatisation, want chief to clarify

Letter sent after GSLV launch: ISRO staff question trajectory of space privatisation, want chief to clarify IN-SPACe head Pawan Goenka's remarks that ISRO will not manufacture launch vehicles spark reservations, employees say.

Key points

• 4 min read New Delhi Sep 6, 2026 04: 22 AM IST.
• Pawan Goenka, chairperson of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), the nodal body, under the Deparment of Space (File).
• The letter notes that ISRO has already transferred around 120 technologies to industry, including the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle and the PSLV.
• Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express.
• The associations describe the activities referenced by Goenka as ISRO's "core competence, " warning that withdrawing from them threatens the organisation's long-term viability.

Key employee associations at the Indian Space Research Organisation have written to ISRO chairperson V Narayanan, questioning the direction of the agency's privatisation drive and its implications for the existing workforce and the agency's future role.

For context, the letter, obtained by The Indian Express, was sent Friday, just hours after ISRO successfully introduced an earth observation satellite aboard a GSLV rocket after a months-long hiatus.

Even as ISRO continues to deliver on its core missions, the letter indicated that questions are mounting within bout what role it will play as private players take on a growing share of the country's space activities. Shedding 'naughty boy' tag, GSLV carries India's first geo-imaging satellite.

Remarked Goenka, who additionally chairs the board of governors at IIT Madras: "Eventually, ISRO will not manufacture any launch vehicles, that will be done by the private sector or PSU. They will not do any day in day out kind of satellites. They will do the satellites that are for special purpose, for orbits for scientific research or to develop new technology that will then obtain transferred to the private sector."

Meanwhile, the employee associations argue that these statements were never followed by any formal communication from the Department of Space explaining the policy, its legal basis, its timeline, or its impact on current staff and future recruitment.

Signed by representatives from throughout ISRO's centres, including the Space Applications Centre and the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, the letter asks the chairperson to problem a "written clarification" on whether Goenka's statements represent an "approved decision" of the administration of India, space commission, or the department of space.

Meanwhile, the letter raises a number of specific worries: what ISRO's future role as a public organisation will look like, whether PSUs will additionally be excluded from manufacturing work, what safeguards exist for current employees, and how publicly funded technologies are being transferred to private businesses. It additionally asks whether employee associations will be consulted before any "irreversible decision" affecting the agency's structure, mandate, or staffing is finalised.

Despite calls and messages, neither Goenka nor Narayanan were available for comment.

Meanwhile, the associations describe the activities referenced by Goenka as ISRO's "core competence, " warning that withdrawing from them threatens the organisation's long-term viability. Employees who built their careers around ISRO's stability and public character, the letter notes, now face uncertainty, and shrinking recruitment – already limited by vacancies and attrition – will discourage talented young professionals who see ISRO as a respected public-sector career path.

Since the space sector was opened to private participation in 2020, the government's stated approach has been for ISRO to mentor emerging firms, gradually shifting routine work to them while ISRO focuses on missions of scientific and strategic significance. The letter notes that ISRO has already transferred around 120 technologies to industry, including the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle and the PSLV. Separately, the new spaceport being developed at Kulasekharapatnam is projected to focus on small satellite launches, a segment where private capability is already fairly advanced.

In practice, the dispute is projected to fuel broader debate over ISRO's future direction.

Ajay Lele, Deputy Director General at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, remarked the sector's opening up was overdue and could have assisted India capture a larger share of the global market sooner. With ISRO now focused on major undertakings like Gaganyaan, the Bharatiya Antariksh Station, and a crewed lunar mission, he remarked some functions would naturally shift to private players – but cautioned that launch services and vehicle development remain core to ISRO's mandate.

"The situation should not be like NASA, where they are completely dependent on SpaceX for their launches, " he remarked. "ISRO should remain capable of launching some of its own satellites, especially the strategic ones." © The Indian Express Pvt Ltd.

Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the challenges with pervasive infectious conditions. She documented on the government's management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city administration investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt additionally takes a keen interest in the country's space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was additionally selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University's Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor's Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She began her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor.

Taken together, the developments around letter sent after GSLV launch: ISRO staff question trajectory of space privatisation, point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.