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Four Indian new space startups have signed an agreement to develop and deploy the first Earth Observation Constellation of India under a private-public partnership model. Pixxel and SatSure are based in Bengaluru, Dhruva Space is based in Hyderabad and PierSight is based in Ahmedabad. 12 satellites will be deployed over the next five years with an investment of over Rs 1,200 crore. The companies won a proposal by IN-SPACe to design, build and operate the constellation in August 2025, with the companies now entering into a formal agreement. The consortium's winning bid was for zero rupees. The companies will design, build and operate the constellation.
The satellites will be equipped with multispectral, hyperspectral, panchromatic and microwave synthetic aperture radar (SAR) payloads. Pixxel completed its Firefly constellation of six hyperspectral satellites last year, PierSight has demonstrated its SAR payload on the upper stage of a PSLV rocket, Dhruva Space has flow satellites on multiple ISRO missions, and provides full-stack services, including satellite buses, deployers and ground stations, while SatSure provides satellite intelligence services and plans to launch its own constellation. PierSight will also be building satellites for maritime surveillance in parallel.
The proposal was introduced by The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), the single window clearing agency for all space activities from India. IN-SPACe functions under the Department of Space of the Government of India. The constellation will provide analysis-ready data (ARD) as well as value added services (VAS) for applications in climate change monitoring, disaster management, agriculture, infrastructure, maritime surveillance, national security, and urban planning. The constellation will also cater to the global demand for geospatial intelligence. The constellation will strengthen data sovereignty, while delivering planetary intelligence at a national scale.
