After the success of Chandrayaan-3, domestic space tech startups are hoping that it would not just improve the funding environment for the sector, but also help them forge new partnerships and collaborations with large space organizations and government agencies globally.
From providing data on traffic in space and building satellite payloads to readying rockets and building the world’s first multi-sensor earth observation satellite, the startups are turbocharged after the success of Chandrayaan-3.
Anirudh Sharma, co-founder and CEO of Digantara, a space tech startup, said, “We were connected with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) during its student satellite program in our college days.”
In 2020, Digantara started as a space situation awareness company – an equivalent of air traffic controller, but in space. Or, in simple words, a platform for space akin to Google Maps. The startup tracks all objects in space like debris and active satellites.
Digantara also provides analytics of space traffic management and space navigation to clients. Its clients include government agencies or commercial companies like global insurance firms that use data like risk analysis of a particular orbit to determine the premium they charge their clients.
Another startup, KaleidEO, is building satellite systems and payloads. It is planning to launch its own earth observation satellites by the end of 2025 to help it take better photos of the planet.
Arpan Sahoo, co-founder and COO of KaleidEO, said, “Such milestones have a knock-on effect on the space ecosystem. Just like me, many others working on this prestigious project will come out from ISRO and transfer their knowledge to society at large. Founders of many startups in the Indian space tech industry are in some way or the other connected to ISRO.”
Sahoo, who started his career with ISRO and also worked partly on the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter project, added: “Science in these kinds of missions may not give us immediate returns commercially. But technology used there can be cross-utilized for the larger good. Apart from talent transfer to the private industry, there will also be knowledge transfer to other sectors.
“For example, the battery and solar panels that are used in satellites are highly efficient and can be used in other sectors like EVs and renewable energy industry.”
Skyroot Aerospace test-launched the country’s first privately-developed rocket last year from ISRO’s Sriharikota. Pawan Kumar Chandana, CEO of Skyroot, said, “Chandrayaan’s success puts India in the limelight, shows it’s a very capable space-faring nation. Also, it showcases the potential of the private sector in India as a lot of critical systems for this mission were supplied by the sector. This will invite new investments and partnerships for India from across the globe, and boost our space economy.”
Chandana, who is a former ISRO scientist and worked on the development of the vehicle which launched Chandrayaan, added: “We are planning to launch a commercial satellite by the end of the year. And we hope to become one of the leading global players in launching commercial satellites to orbit.”
Skyroot has so far raised $68 million, which is said to be the highest by any startup registered in India. It has an MoU with ISRO for gaining access to its test, launch, and integration facilities.
GalaxEye Space is building the world’s first multi-sensor earth observation satellite and a constellation of indigenous micro-satellites with data fusion capabilities.
Suyash Singh, co-founder and CEO of GalaxEye, said, “There are two kinds of earth imaging systems on satellites, one that is passive and provides high-quality optical images through cameras. However, these don’t function during cloudy weather. Another type utilizes remote sensing data called Synthetic Aperture Radar. This sensor produces its own energy and then records the amount of that energy reflected back after interacting with the Earth. These function even during cloudy conditions. However, the image quality does not match optical imaging.”
GalaxEye is combining these two by fusing the data together from both these types of imaging technologies. They claim to be the first in the world to do so. They have still not launched yet, as they are awaiting a slot from ISRO.