ISRO is looking to jump-start an Indian satellite industry by inviting prospective domestic contractors to work with the agency until they can develop independent manufacturing capabilities.

On Sunday, the space agency concluded its first round of accepting proposals from domestic companies to build telecommunications satellites based on ISRO's designs - whether or not those companies have prior experience in the field. Officials now will begin reviewing the proposals and deciding whether to award a contract to a single company, contracts to multiple companies, or no contracts at all in this first round.

ISRO said the effort is intended yield up to 10 Indian-built telecom satellites over the next four or five years. "ISRO, on its part, will provide hand-holding and on-the-job training to the selected (company) at both ISRO's and the party's facilities in the initial phase," the agency said.

The design phase of the commercial satellite program "will be followed by over-the-shoulder supervision," ISRO said. Then, as a contractor acquires more experience, "ISRO's role will be limited to reviewing the acceptance test results and reliability and quality aspects."

If ISRO approves a proposal, the first satellite in the process would be built jointly by the agency and the selected contractor, including assembly of the space platform and subsystems, and integration and testing.

Meanwhile, ISRO has invited proposals - again, exclusively from Indian institutions - for experiments on board its proposed fleet of small research satellites. The plan is to launch a constellation of spacecraft in the 100 kilogram (220 pound) class, carrying research packages no heavier than 30 kilograms (66 pounds).

The agency said its success with requesting experiments for the Chandrayaan-1, ASTROSAT and Megha Tropiques missions encouraged this second round covering small satellites. Those proposals are due June 30, with selection of winning candidates by Sept. 15.

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