Nano-satellites built by startups augurs well for private sector's future endeavours: IN-SPACe

The three nano-satellites developed by startups which were successfully placed into orbits during Saturday's PSLV C54/EOS-06 mission would have significant bearing in the private sector's future endeavours, a top official of space regulator Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) said. Apart from the primary payload -- an Earth Observation Satellite (Oceansat) and five other co-passenger satellites -- the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C54 successfully placed Thybolt-1 and 2 satellites, 'Anand' nano-satellites developed by space startups Hyderabad-based Dhruva Space and Bangalore-based Pixxel, respectively.

IN-SPACe is an autonomous body under the Department of Space.

IN-SPACe and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) facilitated the launch of Thybolt-1 and 2 and 'Anand' satellites onboard PSLV-C54, a press release said.

"We stand witness to yet another successful launch by ISRO today. For the private sector, it is indeed a remarkable feat as Dhruva space and Pixxel successfully executed their missions," IN-SPACe chairman Pawan K Goenka said.

"One of the private firms to be granted approval for payloads launch by IN-SPACe, Dhruva Space is leading the way in the development of indigenous satellites, while Pixxel takes another step towards building a constellation of hyperspectral imaging satellites with the successful launch of Anand," he said.

"These launches by Indian startups will have significant bearing on the Indian private sector's future endeavours in space," Goenka said.

The indigenously developed satellites by Dhruva Space would contribute towards augmenting amateur communications and can be used for communication during disaster management, and low bit-rate applications.

"This is a moment we have long been preparing for and we are truly grateful to all the support IN-SPACe has given in bringing this mission to fruition right from authorisation to execution" Dhruva Space Pvt Ltd CEO Sanjay Nekkanti said.

"We are also grateful to the Department of Space, ISRO and NewSpace India Ltd for their assistance," he said.

PSLVC54 successfully placed EOS-06 (Oceansat) and eight nano satellites including BhutanSat and four Astrocast satellites from Spaceflight USA along with 'Anand' from Pixxel and two Thybolt satellites from Dhruva Space.

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