The Frugal Space Race: Innovation in the Satellite Space Programme
Collaborators: Prof. Luisa Corrado, Prof. Paul Kattuman, Prof. Jaideep Prabhu
Investigating the role of frugal innovation in India’s space programme (Chandrayaan, Mangalyaan), emphasizing how constraint-led innovation has made India globally competitive. Gathering comparative data on 17,000+ global satellite launches (US, Russia, China, etc.) to benchmark India’s performance on cost-effectiveness and policy implications.
Awards & Grants
CJBS Small Grants Award ~ £5,000
Articles
Publication: Democratizing space: India’s frugal space innovation provides key lessons for emerging nations
Investigating the role of frugal innovation in India’s space programme (Chandrayaan, Mangalyaan), emphasizing how constraint-led innovation has made India globally competitive. Gathering comparative data on 17,000+ global satellite launches (US, Russia, China, etc.) to benchmark India’s performance on cost-effectiveness and policy implications.
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Research shows efficiency of India’s low-cost space missions
Recent missions by India’s space programme have shown that major milestones such as a 2023 soft Moon landing can be achieved on relatively modest budgets in the 10s of millions of dollars, says a just-published academic paper co-authored at Cambridge Judge Business School that demonstrates the scope of frugal innovation. For countries that have not ventured into space or fully reaped the benefits of space activity because they are held back by notions of extreme expense, these Indian examples chart a practical way forward.
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