The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) has selected the four homegrown startups to develop and operate India’s first fully indigenous commercial Earth Observation (EO) satellite constellation.
This decision marks a significant milestone in India’s space startup sector and follows a competitive bidding process. The consortium, led by Pixxel, which includes Piersight Space, Satsure Analytics India, and Dhruva Space, will design, build, and manage the constellation of 12 EO satellites.
“Together with our partners, we look forward to building world-class space-tech capabilities that serve the whole planet from Indian soil,” said the CEO of Pixxel, Awais Ahmed. “This is India’s moment to lead the world in space-powered solutions.”
Across Multiple Sectors
The phased deployment of the EO constellation will be completed over four years, with the system expected to be one of the most advanced in the world, entirely developed and operated in India.
Gaurav Seth, co-founder and CEO at PierSight, said that Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) makes the constellation operational 24/7 in all weather conditions. He emphasised PierSight’s role in delivering radar‑first, analysis‑ready products with low latency, so agencies and enterprises get alerts and evidence, not just raw data.
“This PPP (public-private partnership) is about outcomes and execution speed. Our modular, software‑defined radar electronics and deployable antenna heritage let us iterate quickly and align to IN‑SPACe’s phased milestones,” added Vinit Bansal, co-founder & CTO at PierSight.
The consortium will invest over ₹1,200 crore over five years, with the satellites equipped with panchromatic, multispectral, hyperspectral, and microwave SAR sensors. The constellation will deliver data for various applications, including climate change monitoring, disaster management, agriculture, infrastructure, and national security.
Focus on the Homegrown
IN-SPACe chairman, Pawan Goenka, highlighted the project’s importance and said this initiative signals the coming of age of India’s private space industry. Goenka added that it demonstrates the capability of Indian companies to lead large-scale, technologically advanced, and commercially viable space missions.
The government will provide strategic, technical, and policy support, while the PixxelSpace consortium will manage satellite manufacturing, launches, and data commercialisation.
The initiative aims to reduce India’s reliance on foreign satellite data, enhance data sovereignty, and strengthen the country’s position in the global space sector.
Rajeev Jyoti, director of IN-SPACe’s technical directorate, noted that this project is pivotal for creating India’s independent geospatial infrastructure.
“It [the project] will lead to Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in high-resolution optical and radar data for India, catalyse innovation, create thousands of high-skill jobs, and contribute directly to our goal of growing India’s space economy from $8.4 billion in 2022 to $44 billion by 2033,” Jyoti said.
