Google-backed Pixxel launches India’s first private satellite constellation

pixelsAn Indian space technology startup successfully launched the first three hyperspectral satellites of its commercial constellation Firefly aboard a SpaceX rocket from California, marking a significant milestone for India’s growing space ambitions.

India is home to around 300 aerospace startups and has attracted global attention for recent developments, including Successful landing of its lunar spacecraft At the South Pole, A coronagraphy spacecraft launchAnd Partnering with NASA to join the Artemis Accords. Also, India is planning to introduce it First human spaceflight mission next year, Own a space station By 2035, and Send an astronaut on a three-day moon mission By 2040.

The latest launch marks the start of commercial operations for Bengaluru-based Pixel, and took place from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday under SpaceX’s Transporter-12 rideshare mission. Hyperspectral satellites have gained popularity among space agencies as large corporations and governments seek insights into deforestation, ocean pollution, oil spills and water quality. While drones can provide some information, satellites are generally more effective and efficient in most of these areas.

The three satellites are part of the five-year-old startup’s first commercialization phase, which will include three more by Q2 and a total of 18 to 24 satellites by 2026-2027, its chief said in an interview hours before the launch.

“This is the world’s highest-resolution hyperspectral satellite constellation and India’s first private commercial constellation,” Pixel co-founder and CEO Awais Ahmed told TechCrunch.

Made by Pixels Firefly Satellite to provide hyperspectral imagery at a five-meter resolution covering a 40-kilometer (~25-mile) wide swath. Satellites can capture data across more than 150 spectral bands to detect subtle changes in chemical composition, vegetation health, water quality and atmospheric conditions. Onboard narrowband sensors help find hidden patterns and anomalies, which can be helpful for agricultural and climate applications.

The startup has signed up more than 60 customers in the past few years, including the Indian Ministry of Agriculture, British Petroleum and NASA. Some are already receiving hyperspectral image data through demo satellites launched in 2021 and 2022, but the six satellites the startup aims to launch this year “will bring much more data than the demo satellites,” Ahmed said.

“It’s like when you hear a musical note, you can understand what keys it’s made of, and those are the keys we’re trying to pick out with hyperspectral data,” Pixel co-founder and CTO Kshitij Khandelwal told TechCrunch.

The satellites will orbit about 342 miles in a sun-synchronous orbit. While the first three satellites will help Pixxel begin its commercial operations, they will not provide daily global coverage, instead providing insights every two to three days. Pixel executives said they need to add three additional satellites for daily coverage.

Commercial satellites also have local propulsion systems that help them stay in precise orbit for up to seven years, as opposed to a lifetime of one and a half to two years for demo satellites.

Startups eg Esper, Orbital sidekickAnd Wyvern Trying to attract customers to this domain. But Ahmed told TechCrunch that Pixel is the only player so far that offers a truly five-meter hyperspectral satellite.

“Some of them are doing multispectral… but still like eight wavelengths. With hyperspectral, we are able to do 150 wavelengths in five meters, and that is what differentiates us from the existing players,” he said.

As for why Pixel chose a SpaceX rocket instead of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Ahmed said it was simply the timing of the launch and the orbital parameters.

Pixxel, which has raised $95 million in funding to date, counts Accenture Ventures, Google, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Radical Ventures among its key investors.

Ahmed told TechCrunch Outside of Google’s investmentPixxel is exploring how it can integrate its hyperspectral satellite insights into Google Earth and other Google products and services.

India last year Announced a $116 million venture capital fund For space development. The country has also introduced a Dedicated space policy And Updated its foreign direct investment policy Foreign space-related investments to continue expanding its global space industry footprint.