India Eyes Debris-Free Space by 2030 as Base 1 Opens

India has stepped into a new line of space work: clearing up the orbits it uses. On 5 November 2026 the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh, placed a date on that ambition, saying India should aim for debris-free space by 2030. He added that the country is now among the first in the world to build working technology for active removal of junk from orbit.

The facility that was opened

The Minister spoke as Chief Guest, joining on video from Kartavya Bhawan in New Delhi, at the opening of Base 1, the first facility of the space startup Cosmoserve Space. It stands at VSD Tech Park, Gachibowli, in Hyderabad, and runs to roughly 14,800 square feet. Inside, space robots are drawn up, assembled, put through space-like conditions and then flown from an in-house mission control. The building holds orbital rendezvous and capture laboratories, space robotics laboratories, platforms that mimic microgravity, and clean rooms for putting satellites together. Its stated business is active debris removal, usually shortened to ADR, together with servicing of satellites already in orbit.

Who attended

Telangana's Minister for Information Technology and Industries, D. Sridhar Babu, was Guest of Honour. The company's Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Chiranjeevi Phanindra, hosted the event. The Minister noted that the team carries experience from ISRO and the Gaganyaan programme into the private sector, and praised Mission EMBRACE, which put soft robotic petals through a test in space in July 2026, less than a year after the company came into being.

Figures for the sector

India's space economy has grown to nearly USD 9 billion and is expected to reach USD 40-45 billion over the coming decade. The count of space startups has climbed from single digits to nearly 450. The Minister credited the reforms of the past five to six years, and the setting up of NewSpace India Limited and IN-SPACe, for that shift.

Partnerships and the wider aim

Cosmoserve Space works with Pixel on satellite systems, Dhruv Aerospace Netherlands on propulsion and Skyroot Aerospace on launch, an end-to-end chain assembled entirely from Indian and partner private capability. The Minister pointed to Chandrayaan and the Gaganyaan programme as proof that India can fly demanding missions at far lower cost, and said space data already feeds Gati Shakti, smart cities and disaster preparedness. He described the venture as an expression of Vishwa Bandhu Bharat, carrying India's concern for a safe orbital environment beyond its own borders.