3 Indian Startups Set to Blast Off into Space With Earth Observation Satellites in 2023

New Delhi: The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) has announced that three private sector satellite companies are set to launch their earth observation satellites in the current fiscal year.

• GalaxEye, based in Chennai, will launch its first satellite called Dhrishti in the last quarter of 2023. Their satellite constellation will have high-resolution optical and synthetic aperture radar payloads, enabling data fusion for applications like environmental monitoring, illegal vessel tracking, and insurance purposes.
• Dhruva Space, based in Hyderabad, plans to launch its hyperspectral mission in the first quarter of 2024.
• Pixxel, headquartered in Bengaluru, has scheduled the launch of its first commercial phase satellites in 2023. Their constellation will consist of six satellites capable of covering any point on the globe every 48 hours.

Satsure’s subsidiary KaleidEO intends to deploy a constellation of four satellites offering 1-meter spatial resolution images, but the launch schedule is yet to be specified.

As for approved earth observation satellite missions by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in the near future, they include Resourcesat-Sampler 3S/3SA, Resourcesat-3 and 3A, RISAT-1B, TRISHNA (Joint ISRO-CNES, France Programme), NISAR (Joint NASA ISRO Programme), GISAT-1R, and Oceansat-3A.

IN-SPACe, however, did not provide specific launch dates for the aforementioned satellite missions.