Chennai: To scale up their business and gain access to the lucrative space-technology market, an increasing number of domestic space-tech startups are setting up subsidiaries and office facilities in the US.This helps them to gain access to the market as companies prefer domestic vendors, while some companies go a step further in US expansion by setting up local manufacturing facilities.Yashas Karanam, co-founder and chief operation officer of Bellatrix Aerospace said, “Having a US presence supports our market expansion goals. Accessing the US government sector often necessitates having a local office or subsidiary for foreign companies. Additionally, many US entities prefer working with US-based partners. These factors collectively make a US presence crucial for growth and market access,” he said.Startups like Bellatrix, a satellite propulsion maker and Digantara, which focuses on space surveillance and intelligence, have already recently announced US operations, including subsidiaries and manufacturing facilities while players like GalaxEye plans to set up offices. Better market opportunity as the US represents over 50% of the global space market and better funding opportunities are some of the major drivers for startups to establish a US presence.Lt Gen AK Bhatt (retd), director general of Indian Space Association (ISpA) said setting up local entities will help navigate regulatory requirements, adding that the window of opportunity in the next three years is very critical for Indian companies tapping the global markets. “To be relevant global players and have an early mover advantage, startups should have their products tested in space sooner. More companies need to validate their technology and some need to prove with orbital launches,” he said.While growing, the current domestic market, primarily driven by defence application and increasing interest from private players, is limited. Bhatt acknowledged the effort made to boost domestic demand, and said a lot more needs to be done. The US space technology market is estimated at $231 billion and market research reports estimate it to reach $348 billion by 2030.