Kartik Kumar creates first-of-its-kind marketplace for space products and suppliers, including Antrix of ISRO
by Supratim Pal
An Indian astronaut with Austrian Space Forum creates first-of-its-kind marketplace for space products and suppliers, including Antrix of ISRO, and is field-testing technology for a mission to Mars.
Like Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Kartik Kumar too began his startup at the age of 31. Unlike Bezos, however, his e-commerce venture did not start with books, but an altogether different array of products: antennas, actuators, solar panels, and cubesat structures, among thousands of other space products — something like this open marketplace was unheard of before satsearch.
Kumar, part of an original two-man team behind the unique portal launched in April 2015, is not just another scientist busy researching in a lab. The Bengaluru-born analog astronaut of Austrian Space Forum is working at present with more than 200 scientists from 25 nations in the desolate Dhofar desert in southern Oman, near the borders of Yemen and Saudi Arabia, to field-test technology for a human mission to Mars. Amid the complex schedule, Kumar talks to Mirror about satsearch, “Being the ‘Amazon for space’ is definitely one of the directions we are exploring with our platform. At the core of our vision is the idea that consolidated, up-to-date, and harmonised supply chain information will empower engineers, business developers, analysts and others to make data-driven decisions within the space industry.”
Before satsearch, collaboration among space organisations of various countries was quite different. Kumar, who is finalising a PhD in the Astrodynamics and Space Missions research group at Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, clarifies, “Stakeholders in the space industry typically conduct business face-to-face at conferences, exhibitions, meetings, etc. As a result, you only learn about what’s on the market if an organisation turns up at such an event, or you happen to have contacts through your network that lead you to them. Satsearch is changing the market by democratising access to the space supply chain and offering a global perspective on the products and services offered all over the world. In this manner, we are changing the entire industry and building tools to support engineering, procurement, business development and market analysis.”
Success always comes with some trials and errors and Kumar, now 33, has learnt it the hard way too. In 2012, he co-founded Ortsa Prime, providing mission analysis, data analysis, optimisation and conceptual design expertise to small-satellite market. However, the startup witnessed an end in eight months, prompting the astropreneur to ponder, “The founding team is indeed the most crucial aspect to get the right course for a successful startup.”
Kumar is not alone in his pursuit of the vision for satsearch: his ambitious team includes two other founders — one from Bengaluru and based in Berlin, and another in Italy. “Being a space engineer, I’ve worked on the design of multiple space missions. In each of those studies, I hit the same brick wall: I was wasting a tremendous amount of time trying to ‘Google’ for information about space products and services available in the market. Having spent hours scouring the internet for datasheets, scrolling through long PDFs looking for technical details, and not knowing if I’d missed anything, I decided that something had to be done to solve this. That’s what led to satsearch,” adds Kumar, hours after returning to base camp after conducting experiments in his 50-kg spacesuit, christened Aouda, through the Dhofar desert. The effort was to simulate what it would be like “setting foot on the Red Planet, which is the most important spacefaring aim of our generation”.
Over 700 suppliers of space products, including 128 from India, have already showcased over 5,000 products and services on satsearch. The latest tie-up came from none other than Antrix, the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Kumar believes that by signing the memorandum of understanding (MoU) earlier this month, Antrix will be able to tap into the global reach offered through satsearch’s platform, to highlight the core technologies mastered by the Indian space supply chain.
Interest in the Indian space supply chain has grown rapidly, especially in recent years, due to a number of notable successes — including successfully delivering a spacecraft to Mars on the first attempt, breaking the record by successfully delivering 104 satellites to orbit on a single launcher, and successfully launching the first developmental flight of India’s heavy lift launch vehicle GSLV Mk-III. “The Indian space supply chain includes state-of-the-art products, services, and technologies with proven flight heritage that offer tremendous opportunities in the commercial space. We are excited to help showcase these capabilities and stimulate new relationships within the global space market,” said Kumar, who has been enamoured by the stars since childhood, especially after he was gifted a telescope by his uncle. “My parents played a big part in my story by providing unwavering support and encouragement to pursue my dreams. Space is a new, exciting, boundless place and continues to captivate me.”
Satsearch is changing the market by democratising access to the space supply chain and offering a global perspective on the products and services offered all over the world.