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

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

India is home to nearly 300 space startups and recent developments including successful landing of his spaceship at the south pole coronagraphic spacecraft launchand Partnering with NASA to join the Artemis Agreement. In addition, India plans to launch its own the first human space shuttle mission next year owns a space station By 2035 and send an astronaut to the moon for three days By 2040.

The latest launch marks the start of commercial operations for Bengaluru-based Pixxel and took place at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base under SpaceX’s Transporter-12 rideshare 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 commercialization phase, which will include three more in the second quarter and a total of 18 to 24 satellites in 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,” Pixxel co-founder and CEO Awais Ahmed told TechCrunch.

Built by Pixel Firefly satellites Providing hyperspectral imagery with a resolution of five meters covering a width of 40 kilometers (~25 miles). Satellites can acquire data in more than 150 spectral bands to detect subtle changes in chemical composition, vegetation health, water quality, and atmospheric conditions. On-board narrow-band sensors help find hidden patterns and anomalies that can be useful for agricultural and climate applications.

The startup has signed contracts with more than 60 clients in the past few years, including India’s Ministry of Agriculture, British Petroleum and NASA. Some are already getting hyperspectral imaging data through demo satellites launched in 2021 and 2022, but the six satellites the startup aims to launch this year “will bring more data than the demo satellites,” Ahmed said.

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

The satellites will orbit the sun at a distance of about 342 miles. While the first three satellites will help Pixxel begin commercial operations, they will not provide daily global coverage, instead providing data every two to three days. Pixxel executives said they needed to add three additional satellites for daily coverage.

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

startups like Esper, Orbital Sidekickand Wyvern They are trying to attract customers in this domain. But Ahmed told TechCrunch that Pixxel is the only player so far to offer truly five-meter hyperspectral satellites.

“Some of them do multispectral, but it’s still about eight wavelengths. With hyperspectral, we are able to move 150 wavelengths in five meters, which differentiates us from existing players.”

On why Pixxel preferred SpaceX rocket over 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 so far, counts Accenture Ventures, Google, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Radical Ventures among its key investors.

Ahmed told TechCrunch Beyond the Google investmentPixxel is exploring how it can integrate hyperspectral satellite data 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 presented special space policy and renewed foreign direct investment policy for overseas space-related investments to continue expanding the footprint of the global space industry.