NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: In a bid to boost the country’s private space sector, Indian space technology startups Pixxel, Digantara and XDLINX Space Labs on Wednesday successfully launched a high-tech satellite to monitor objects on Earth and in space. The satellites arrived aboard Elon Musk’s SpaceX rideshare mission Transporter 12 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 7:15 GMT (just after midnight in India). It was launched.
Pixxel has launched the first three satellites of the Firefly constellation, India’s first private satellite constellation. With the successful launch, the company became the first company to launch the world’s highest resolution commercial hyperspectral satellite into space from India. With 5-meter resolution, the first ever achieved on a hyperspectral spacecraft, fireflies are six times clearer than the 30-meter resolution that is standard for most existing hyperspectral satellites
“The successful deployment of our first commercial satellite is a defining moment for Pixxel and a giant leap forward in redefining how space technology is used to address Earth’s challenges.” Pixxel said Awais Ahmed, Founder and CEO. The startup plans to launch three more Firefly satellites in the second quarter of 2025.
Digantara launched the SCOT satellite on SpaceX’s Transporter 12 mission to enhance space safety and track resident space objects (RSOs). The world’s first commercial Space Situational Awareness (SSA) satellite efficiently monitors Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Backed by Aditya Birla Ventures and SIDBI, it aims to support national security and space operations.
XDLINX Space Labs, a Hyderabad-based innovative Indian space technology startup specializing in nanosatellites and microsatellites, has also launched ELEVATION-1, the first-ever Satcom E-band communications satellite on board the same rocket. We launched a technology demonstration satellite. “We are overwhelmed. Elevation worked. In fact, in its first appearance over India, just a few hours after separation, it signaled to us that the data rate We’re excited about it,” said Saeed Ahmed, payload scientist. He told TOI on XDLINX.
