India is working towards a debris-free space environment by 2030 and is emerging as one of the early global pioneers in space debris removal, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh said on Thursday, November 5, at the inauguration of Cosmoserve Space's Base 1 facility, according to IANS. Singh congratulated the startup for its pioneering work in active debris removal and in-orbit servicing.

Source: IANS

Base 1, in Hyderabad, is a 14,800-square-foot facility housing an orbital rendezvous and capture lab, a space robotics lab, a microgravity simulation platform and a clean room for satellite integration, IANS reported. The Hindu BusinessLine, reporting from Hyderabad, said Singh joined the inauguration virtually alongside Telangana IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu, and that the facility will also support in-orbit repair and refuelling of satellites, according to founder and CEO Dr Chiranjeevi Phanindra.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

14,800 sq ftSize of Cosmoserve's Base 1 facility in Hyderabad
$6 millionNew seed round led by Japan's Rebright Partners; total funding now over $9 million
2030India's target year for a debris-free space environment
2027 / 2028Planned full-scale debris-capture demonstration / start of commercial operations

The opening followed a $6 million seed funding round in which Japan's Rebright Partners joined Aranya Holdings, Naandi Ventures, AUM Ventures and Shakti VC, taking the company's total funding to over $9 million, BusinessLine reported. Inc42 reported that Phanindra, who spent close to 15 years with ISRO before founding Cosmoserve in June 2025, put the cost of building Base 1 at around Rs 6 crore and described it as India's first private facility of its kind.

Source: Inc42

The company's Mission EMBRACE conducted an in-space test of soft robotic petals in July 2026, within a year of the company's formation, the minister noted, according to IANS. BusinessLine reported that Cosmoserve plans to re-fly the mission and conduct a full-scale debris capture demonstration in 2027, while Inc42 reported the startup aims to complete its technology demonstrations by 2027 and start commercial operations by 2028.

Source: IANS

Singh said India's space economy has grown to nearly $9 billion and is projected to reach $40-45 billion in the coming decade, while the country's space startup ecosystem has expanded from single digits to nearly 450 enterprises, IANS reported. He called on domestic and international investors to participate more actively in the sector.

Source: IANS