Ajey Lele

Senior Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Gp. Capt. Ajey Lele’s Commentary ‘The Indian Space Association seeks to broaden commercial interests’ was published in ‘The Space Review’ on October 18, 2021.

India has the third-highest number of billionaires in the world after the US and China. So far, there’s been very limited interest by this community in the business of space. Agencies like ISpA should not restrict themselves to coordinate between existing investors but should also ensure that new investors join the field. If India has to grow big, then they require major industrial houses to enter the business of space who can undertake sustained investments without worrying much about profits for at least the first few years, says Gp. Capt. Lele.

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• Published: 18 October, 2021

Senior Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Gp. Capt. Ajey Lele’s article ‘India needs to avoid Moon Trap’ has been published in Financial Express on October, 11, 2021.

Presently, there is no dying need for India to join any multilateral mega project like Artemis Accords. First, there is a necessity to have clarity on issues like ownership of Space Resources, before India joins any global Moon bandwagon. Today, many of India’s own space projects have been delayed owing Covid-19 crisis and there is a need to complete them first. It is important to keep focus on priorities rather than unnecessarily getting into any Moon Trap, says Gp. Capt.Lele.

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• Published: 11 October, 2021

Senior Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Gp. Capt. Ajey Lele's article 'ISRO's Cryogenic Conundrum' has been published in The Space Review, on August 16, 2021.

India is just nowhere near to the capabilities of NASA, ESA, Russia, and China and even that of companies like SpaceX. ISRO needs to prioritize its agenda, says Gp. Capt. Lele.

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• Published: 16 August, 2021

Senior Fellow Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Gp. Capt. Ajey Lele’s article ‘Medical aspects of Space Tourism’ has been published in Financial Express on July 30, 2021.

It is expected that the type of space tourism, which Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin are offering in near future, would make space accessible to the general (rich) public. Now is the time to formulate medical guidelines even for this type of travel. The people who are allowed to travel should be in good health and should not be suffering from heart and blood pressure related complications, says Gp. Capt. Lele.

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• Published: 30 July, 2021

Senior Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Gp. Capt. Ajey Lele’s article ‘Future of civil aviation sector: The supersonic flying’ has been published in Financial Express on July 20, 2021.

For modern-day supersonic commercial platforms, the business model should be different from the yesteryear Concorde model, says Gp. Capt Lele.

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• Published: 20 July, 2021

Senior Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA Gp. Capt. Ajey Lele’s article ‘Richard Branson’s space visit, where are Indian billionaires? Has been published in Financial Express on July 13, 2021.

Presently, it is exacted that with more players entering into the field of space tourism, eventually even space tourism could become somewhat affordable. There is a need for Indian billionaires to realise that the space sector is ripe with opportunities and is expected to contribute majorly towards shaping the future of the global economy and still there is a time to get into the business of space, says Gp. Capt. Lele.

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• Published: 13 July, 2021

Senior Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Gp. Capt. Ajey Lele’s Issue Brief ‘Comments on ISRO’s Draft National Space Transportation Policy-2020’ has been published by Society for the Study of peace and Conflict (SSPC), on July 12, 2021.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has presented a Draft National Space Transportation Policy-2020 in the public domain for comments. This issue brief is a humble attempt toward that effect. It identifies why ISRO has come out (timing) with this policy and offers some observations on this draft policy, says Gp. Capt. Lele.

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• Published: 12 July, 2021

Senior Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA. Gp. Capt. Ajey Lele’s article ‘Celebrity guinea pigs: Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos going to Space’ has been published in Financial Express on July 09, 2021.

Space Travel has always been a fantasy for humans. At present, space industry entrepreneurs are investing much towards fulfilling this dream. Sir Richard Branson and Mr. Jeff Bezosneeds to be complimented for showing the courage to lead by example for the sake of demonstrating the capabilities of their respective companies in particular and popularising space tourism in general, says Gp. Capt Lele.

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• Published: 9 July, 2021

Senior Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Gp. Capt. Ajey Lele’s article ‘World Asteroid Day: Everything you need to know about wandering celestial objects’ has been published in Financial Express on June 30, 2021.

Asteroid Day is not only for raising the awareness about asteroids but also is a day, when humans need to take a pause and think about what can be done to protect the Earth from any possible asteroid strike, says Gp. Capt. Lele.

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• Published: 30 June, 2021

Senior Fellow, Manohar Parrikar IDSA, Gp. Capt. Ajey Lele’s article ‘Shenzhou 12 space station: China’s heavenly palace’ has been published in Financial Express on June 21, 2021.

China has added another ‘feather in the cap’, when on 17 June 2021, three Chinese astronauts (taikonauts) entered the made in China Space Station (CSS), writes Gp. Capt. Lele.

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• Published: 21 June, 2021