Bengaluru sources have stated that ISRO is finalizing plans to get two spare navigation satellites of its IRNSS fleet built by industry in the next two years, where it will handhold industry for the first project and build it by March 2017.
M. Annadurai, Director of ISRO Satellite Centre, has said on Thursday that they have planned to have a consortium of industry to do the two navigation satellites and the rest of the seven navigation satellites are in orbit and has also added that ISRO plans to go to the next level and issue the request for proposal of the technical bid “in weeks” to interested companies from both, public and private sectors.
Meanwhile the expressions of interest were called in June and ISRO is discussing the nitty-gritty of risks, price and profit sharing with prospective partners and the bids are planned to be evaluated and a final consortium to be identified by October, so that the spacecraft can be ready by March 2017.
It is stated that the second spacecraft is aimed for a year thereafter, but will be built by industry using ISRO’s designs and under its watch and the ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar has said at the World Space Biz conference earlier that there was an urgency to double the number of satellites ISRO launches for a variety of uses.
