Google-backed Pixxel has launched India’s first private satellite constellation

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

India is home to around 300 space startups, and has gained global attention for recent developments, including Successful landing of its spacecraft on the surface of the moon in Antarctica, Coronary spacecraft launchand Partnering with NASA to join the Artemis Accords. Moreover, India is planning to launch its project The first human space mission next year, Owning a space station By 2035, and Sending an astronaut on a three-day mission to the moon By 2040.

The latest launch marks the start of commercial operations for Bengaluru-based Pixxel and was conducted from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Tuesday at around 10:45 AM PT under SpaceX’s Transporter-12 ridesharing mission. Hyperspectral satellites have gained popularity among space companies as large corporations and governments seek insights into deforestation, ocean pollution, oil spills, and water quality. While drones can provide some data, satellites are generally more effective and efficient in most of these cases.

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

“It is the world’s highest resolution hyperspectral satellite constellation and India’s first-ever private commercial constellation,” Owais Ahmed, co-founder and CEO of Pixxel, told TechCrunch.

Built by Pixelxel Firefly satellites To provide hyperspectral images with a resolution of five meters, covering a wide area of ​​40 kilometers (~25 miles). Satellites can capture data across more than 150 spectral bands to detect subtle changes in chemical compositions, vegetation health, water quality, and weather conditions. Onboard narrowband sensors help find hidden patterns and anomalies, which can be useful for agricultural and climate applications.

The startup has signed on with more than 60 clients in the past few years, including the Indian Ministry of Agriculture, BP, and NASA. Some are already getting hyperspectral image data through experimental satellites launched in 2021 and 2022, but the six satellites the startup aims to launch this year will bring “much more data than the experimental satellites,” Ahmed said.

“It’s like when you hear a musical note, you understand the keys that make it up, and those keys are what we’re trying to capture with hyperspectral data,” Pixxel co-founder and CTO Kshitij Khandelwal told TechCrunch.

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

Commercial satellites also include local propulsion systems to help them remain in precise orbit for up to seven years, versus a lifespan of one and a half to two years on experimental satellites.

Start-up companies such as Esper, Orbital sidekickand Wyvern They are trying to attract customers in this field. But Ahmed told TechCrunch that Pixxel is the only company so far to offer five-meter hyperspectral satellites.

“Some of them do multi-spectrum… but still at like eight wavelengths or so. With hyperspectrum, we’re able to do 150 wavelengths at five meters, and that’s what sets us apart from the current players,” he said.

On why Pixxel preferred the SpaceX rocket instead of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) rocket, Ahmed said it was just the launch timing and 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 that Beyond Google’s investmentsPixxel is exploring how it can integrate hyperspectral satellite insights with Google Earth and other Google products and services.

India last year Announced a $116 million venture capital fund for space developments. The country also provided a Custom space policy and Modernizing the foreign direct investment policy For external space-related investments to further expand the global space industry.