Two Friends Will Send India's 1st Private Earth-Imaging Satellite On ISRO Rocket

Whenever we hear about private space companies, the first name that comes to our mind is Elon Musk¡¯s SpaceX. But very soon, you'll have to make room for India's Pixxel space startup to that list.

Reuters

While India¡¯s space adventures are often associated with the government-backed space organisation ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization), it looks like startup Pixxel Space will soon join this list, as it readies India¡¯s first homegrown private, commercial Earth-imaging satellite.

Pixxel is a young aerospace startup from India, started by two BITS Pilani graduates Awais Ahmed and Kshitij Khandelwal in February 2019, and becoming Asia's only space startup to qualify for the 2019 Techstars Starburst Space Accelerator in Los Angeles.

In case you¡¯re wondering that you¡¯ve heard of Pixxel Space before, it¡¯s because a year ago, we got to interact with one of its founders. At the time, the rocket was scheduled to launch in March 2020 on a Russian rocket. However, now, the company has announced that it will soon launch its satellite aboard ISRO¡¯s PSLV C51 Mission.

Twitter: Pixxel Space

The satellite Pixxel Space has developed is called Anand and it is the first of the many Earth-imaging satellites that it plans to launch in space to offer a new kind of dataset while offering global coverage every 24 hours that will allow organisations with access to the satellite to detect, monitor as well as predict global occurrences in real-time.

The space startup has developed software tools that use AI-based algorithms to offer crucial insights that can come in handy in industries like agriculture, oil and gas, agriculture, forestry, climate change monitoring and others.

BCCL

Pixxel Space¡¯s efforts have even been lauded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He expressed his excitement on Twitter, stating, ¡°Space is the space to be in! I assure you, and several others like you, of the constant support from the Government. The reform trajectory in this sector will also continue.¡±

Surprisingly, Pixxel Space¡¯s Anand won¡¯t be the only Indian satellite aboard the PSLV C51. The payload consists of two more satellites including 'SATISH SAT' by 'Space Kids India', and 'UNIT-SAT' by a consortium of universities will also be launched as a part of the PSLV-C51 mission.

ISRO

Reports have also revealed that the primary payload on the Pixxel rocket will house a Brazilian earth observation satellite named Amazonia. PSLV C51 is scheduled to launch sometime in February 2021.

There's no doubt that Elon Musk's company SpaceX has revolutionised the space industry -- but let's cheers the efforts of a couple of young Indians trying to create history and write a new chapter in private space history.