TDB Funds Manastu Space Green Propulsion With Rs 116 Crore

The Technology Development Board (TDB), which works under the Department of Science and Technology, has tied up with a private space start-up to build a cleaner way of moving satellites in orbit. The board agreed to put Rs 116 crore into a propulsion programme run by Manastu Space Technologies Private Limited, a company based in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra. The money comes from the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund and will be released as Optionally Convertible Debt, so the board may later turn the loan into equity.

What the project will build

The programme covers a single, scalable propulsion family that can serve both satellites and launch vehicles. Its thrust range runs from 5 mN at the smallest end up to the 300 N class, which means the same architecture can push a tiny satellite or a much heavier stage. Instead of the toxic fuels that spacecraft have long depended on, the engine burns a green propellant built around hydrogen peroxide mixed with additives, fed through a matching engine and catalyst assembly. An ultra-high-temperature ceramic catalyst is part of the design so the system keeps working under punishing heat.

Cost and maturity

The whole project is costed at Rs 277.63 crore, of which the board carries Rs 116 crore. The aim is to lift the technology from Technology Readiness Level six to Technology Readiness Level nine, that is from a system proved in a relevant setting to one flown and ready for routine use. The engine has already been fired in space once, so the fresh round of work is about engineering, integration, testing and validation rather than a first proof.

Why it matters

TDB has classed the work under the Deep Technology sector, with Space Technology as its sub-sector. Shri Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Secretary of the board, said home-grown propulsion matters across the whole space value chain as India’s space economy widens. Safer propellants also cut the handling risk and cost that conventional fuels carry, and reduce the country’s dependence on engines bought from abroad.