A consortium led by Bengaluru-based PixxelSpace has won the bid to build and operate India's first fully indigenous commercial Earth Observation (EO) satellite constellation. The announcement was made by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) on Tuesday.
The consortium, which includes Piersight Space, Satsure Analysctics India, and Dhruva Space, will invest over Rs 1,200 crore to launch a constellation of 12 EO satellites over the next five years. These satellites will be equipped with a variety of advanced sensors, including panchromatic, multispectral, hyperspectral, and microwave SAR.
The Pixxel-led team won the project under the Earth Observation satellite Public-Private Partnership (EO-PPP) model. They edged out consortia led by Astra Microwave Products Limited and GalaxEye Space.
Key features and impact
The constellation will include a mix of very-high-resolution, wide-swath multispectral, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), and hyperspectral satellites. This will enable a wide range of applications, from precision agriculture and environmental monitoring to disaster assessment and infrastructure planning.
According to Pawan Goenka, Chairman of IN-SPACe, this initiative is a significant step for India's private space industry, demonstrating its capability to lead large-scale, technologically advanced, and commercially viable missions. The project is expected to reduce India's dependence on foreign satellite data and ensure data sovereignty.
Under the partnership, the government will provide strategic support while the consortium will own and operate the entire system, including manufacturing satellites, conducting launches from Indian soil, and commercialising data services.
Awais Ahmed, CEO of Pixxel, called the win a "major milestone" and expressed his belief that "this is India's moment to lead the world in space-powered solution".
The satellites will be deployed in phases over the next four years to ensure continuous service upgrades and expanded coverage.
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