Dhruva Space Private Limited is an Indian privateaerospace manufacturer headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana. Founded in 2012 by Sanjay Srikanth Nekkanti, the company is engaged in the development of small satellites in the commercial, governmental and academic markets.[1] It provides full-stack space-engineering solutions across launch, space and ground segments – namely, the building, launching and operation of satellites.
In 2014, Dhruva Space signed a deal with AMSAT India to develop HAMSAT-II.[2]
In December 2019, Dhruva Space raised ₹5 crore in funding led by Mumbai Angels Network.[3]
In September 2020, Dhruva Space became the first Indian private company to secure an order for end-to-end design and development of space-grade solar arrays for satellites.
On 16 March 2022, Dhruva Space signed a commercial launch services agreement (LSA) with NewSpace India Limited for an in-orbit test of its Dhruva Space Orbit Deployers. These are likely to be used on board the PSLV and the SSLV.[5][6]
On 24 June, Dhruva Space and Digantara Aerospace were announced as the first two private companies to receive authorisation from IN-SPACe for space activities.[8][9]
On 15 July 2024, Dhruva Space was granted authorisation by IN-SPACe to provide Ground Stations as a Service (GSaaS).[10][11] GSaaS will ensure reliable data transmission, enhance mission flexibility, and reduce operational costs pertaining to Ground Stations.
Capability and Infrastructure
Dhruva Space currently operates out of a 10,000 square-foot facility in the Begumpet area of Hyderabad. The workspace houses specialised facilities such as a Class 10,000 Cleanroom, a Helmholtz Cage, fully-equipped mechanical and electronic labs, and an operational ground station.
On 14 October 2023, Dhruva Space shared a first look at the company's upcoming 280,000 square-foot facility to be situated in the outskirts of Hyderabad that will design, engineer, assemble, integrate and test large-scale satellite infrastructure. Products and services include satellite platforms and subsystems, satellite orbital deployers, ground station equipment, and more.[12] The facility completion will be done in a multi-phase manner. The first phase – to be ready in 18 to 24 months – will be 150,000 square feet, which includes a 20,000 square foot Solar Array Assembly Line.[13]
Partnerships
Dhruva Space has nurtured a breadth of global partnerships, with entities including Swedish Space Corporation (SSC), United States-based Redwire Space, and France-based Safran, among others.
On 16 February 2023, Dhruva Space signed a Memorandum of Agreement with French strategic equipment supplier Comat, for a bilateral technology exchange for diversity in market access and Space solutions.[14]
On 16 March 2023, Dhruva Space announced a partnership with France-based satellite operator and global IoT connectivity provider Kinéis. Both companies will collaborate to establish space and ground infrastructure to scale the diversity and impact of satellite-based solutions.[15] Kinéis' and Dhruva Space's partnership will culminate in a joint satellite mission for various IoT applications. This mission was announced by French space agency CNES in a press release detailing Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi's official tour of France in July 2023.
On March 17, 2022, Dhruva Space won the Qualcomm Design for India Challenge 2021 for their Bolt module.[17] In October 2022, the company exhibited Bolt at the India Mobile Congress 2022 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, as part of Qualcomm India's 5G Startups Showcase.
On 11 October 2022, Dhruva Space was named ‘Best Startup - Silver’ for the Telangana State Industry Awards 2022. The Award will be accoladed to the startup on 7 March 2023 by Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao, Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development, Industries & Commerce, and Information Technology, Government of Telangana.[18]
On 1 March 2023, Dhruva Space was awarded with an Innovation for India Award by the Marico Innovation Foundation.[19][20] The Innovation for India Awards was held at Jio World Centre, Mumbai, and the award was accoladed to Dhruva Space by Rajeev Bakshi, Non-Executive & Independent Director, Marico Limited.
On 27 March, Dhruva Space was announced as one of the winners of the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Telecom Skill Excellence Awards, instituted by the Ministry of Communications, Government of India. The Awards Ceremony was held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, during the First International Quantum Conclave. The PDUT Award was felicitated to Dhruva Space by Ashwini Vaishnaw, IAS, Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India.
On 27 October, Dhruva Space was listed as one of Forbes India's DGEMS 200 for the year 2023. Forbes India partnered for this launch edition of DGEMS with D Globalist, a global business mobility accelerator.[21]
Missions
ISRO's PSLV-C53 launch on 30 June 2022, which carried Dhruva Space's 1U Satellite Orbital Deployer
On 26 November 2022, Dhruva Space launched two amateur radio communication CubeSats as part of ISRO's PSLV C54 mission. The launch of Dhruva Space's Thybolt Mission took place at 11:56am from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.[25][26] As of 1 February 2023, Thybolt-1 and Thybolt-2 completed 1000 orbits in LEO.[27] The mission lifetime, according to the company, is approximately one year. At Broadband India Forum’s India SatCom 2022 in New Delhi, India, Dhruva Space was accoladed by IN-SPACe Chairman Dr. Pawan K Goenka to have 'the first private Indian satellites authorised by IN-SPACe, successfully deployed in orbit.' In June 2024, Dhruva Space announced that the Thybolt-1 and Thybolt-2 satellites had deborbited after more than 15,000 combined orbits.
On 22 April 2023, the company launched its 3U and 6U Satellite Orbital Deployers and its Dhruva Space Satellite Orbiter Link (DSOL) onboard ISRO’s PSLV C55, as part of POEM-2. Dhruva Space and IN-SPACe have both declared the missions successful.[28][29]
Launching Expeditions for Aspiring Payloads (LEAP)
One of Dhruva Space's commercial offerings as a full-stack company is full-fledged hosted payload solutions for Space missions across the global market, through the company's 'Launching Expeditions for Aspiring Payloads' initiative.
Dhruva Space Space-qualified its P-30 nanosatellite platform launched as ‘LEAP - Technology Demonstrator’ (or LEAP-TD) payload onboard ISRO’s PSLV-C58 POEM-3 mission on 1 January 2024. This mission not only validated the company's P-30 platform but also its various subsystems in-orbit.[30][31]
The company's next mission is LEAP-1 mission which will see Dhruva Space's P-30 nanosatellite set to validate the satellite imagery payload of an Australian customer. According to ISRO, this mission is set to fly onboard PSLV-C59.[32]
Related Research Articles
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A small satellite, miniaturized satellite, or smallsat is a satellite of low mass and size, usually under 1,200 kg (2,600 lb). While all such satellites can be referred to as "small", different classifications are used to categorize them based on mass. Satellites can be built small to reduce the large economic cost of launch vehicles and the costs associated with construction. Miniature satellites, especially in large numbers, may be more useful than fewer, larger ones for some purposes – for example, gathering of scientific data and radio relay. Technical challenges in the construction of small satellites may include the lack of sufficient power storage or of room for a propulsion system.
The Launch Vehicle Mark-3 or LVM3 is a three-stage medium-lift launch vehicle developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Primarily designed to launch communication satellites into geostationary orbit, it is also due to launch crewed missions under the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme. LVM3 has a higher payload capacity than its predecessor, GSLV.
STUDSAT, is a CubeSat satellite designed by students. This project was conceptualised and project managed by undergraduate students across India. STUDSAT is a picosatellite successfully launched on 12 July 2010 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre into a Sun-synchronous orbit. The mission's objective was for students to have a hands-on experience with the design, fabrication and realisation of a space mission at a minimum cost. Experimental in nature, the mission life was stated to be six months.
Planet Labs PBC is a publicly trading American Earth imaging company based in San Francisco, California. Their goal is to image the entirety of the Earth daily to monitor changes and pinpoint trends.
PSLV-C34 was the 36th mission of the PSLV program and 14th mission of PSLV in XL configuration. The PSLV-C34 successfully carried and deployed 20 satellites in the Sun-synchronous orbit. With a launch mass of 320,000 kilograms (710,000 lb) and payload mass of 1,288 kilograms (2,840 lb), the C34 set a new record of deploying the maximum number of satellites by Indian Space Research Organisation in a single mission. The PSLV-C34 carried One Cartosat-2 satellite, SathyabamaSat, Swayam & 17 other satellites from United States, Canada, Germany & Indonesia.
PSLV-C2 was the second operational launch and overall fifth mission of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) program. This launch was also the forty-third launch by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) since its first mission on 1 January 1962. The vehicle carried three satellites which were deployed in the Sun-synchronous low Earth orbit. The vehicle carried India's first remote sensing satellite Oceansat-1 (IRS-P4) as the main payload. It also carried South Korean satellite KITSAT-3 and German satellite DLR-Tubsat as auxiliary payloads. PSLV-C2 was the first Indian Expendable launch vehicle to carry and deploy more than one satellite in a mission. This was also India's and ISRO's first commercial spaceflight where South Korea and Germany each paid US$1.0 million to ISRO for launching their satellites.
PSLV-C3 was the third operational launch and overall sixth mission of the PSLV program. This launch was also the forty-sixth launch by Indian Space Research Organisation since its first mission on 1 January 1962. The vehicle carried three satellites which were deployed in the Sun-synchronous Low Earth orbit. The vehicle carried Technology Experiment Satellite, BIRD and PROBA. This was India's and ISRO's second commercial spaceflight. PSLV-C3 was launched at 10:23 a.m. IST on 22 October 2001 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
PSLV-C37 was the 39th mission of the Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) program and its 16th mission in the XL configuration undertaken by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Launched on 15 February 2017 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, the rocket successfully carried and deployed a record number of 104 satellites in Sun-synchronous orbits in a single mission, breaking the earlier record of launching 37 satellites by a Russian Dnepr rocket on 19 June 2014. This record was held until the launch of the Transporter-1 mission by SpaceX on 24 January 2021 which launched 143 satellites.
PSLV-C38 was the 40th mission of the Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) program and its 17th mission in the XL configuration. PSLV-C38 successfully carried and deployed 31 satellites in Sun-synchronous orbit. It was launched on 23 June 2017 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
The Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) is a small-lift launch vehicle developed by ISRO with payload capacity to deliver 500 kg (1,100 lb) to low Earth orbit or 300 kg (660 lb) to Sun-synchronous orbit for launching small satellites, with the capability to support multiple orbital drop-offs. SSLV is made keeping low cost, low turnaround time in mind with launch-on-demand flexibility under minimal infrastructure requirements.
Pixxel is a US/Indian based private space technology company, aiming to put a constellation of 30+ hyperspectral Earth observation micro-satellites into a Sun-synchronous orbit in the 2020s. The company is headquartered in El Segundo, California and Bengaluru, Karnataka. It was founded by Awais Ahmed and Kshitij Khandelwal while still studying at BITS Pilani in 2019. Pixxel was also Asia's only space startup to qualify for the 2019 Techstars Starburst Space Accelerator in Los Angeles.
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The PSLV-C53 is the 55th mission of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and 15th mission using PSLV-Core Alone variant. PSLV-C53 is the second dedicated commercial mission of NSIL.
The PSLV-C54 was the 56th mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). It was launched on 26 November 2022 with the Oceansat-3 satellite and Thybolt nanosatellites of Dhruva Space from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, India.
The PSLV-C55 was the 57th mission of Indian Space Research Organisation's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the 16th flight of the PSLV-CA variant.
PSLV Orbital Experiment Platform (POEM) also known as PSLV Stage 4 Orbital Platform (PS4-OP) is an orbital micro-gravity test bed based on spent fourth stage of PSLV. By adding modular subsystems for power generation, communication and stabilization like photovoltaic cells, Telemetry and Telecommand (TT&C) package, attitude control system, data storage etc to the PSLV fourth stage, it can function as a satellite bus. This augmented stage can then host payloads for up to six months while in orbit, making it useful for qualifying components, gaining space heritage and conduct experiments in micro-gravity conditions. Usually the fourth stage of PSLV is discarded after deployment of satellite and remains in orbit for a significant duration in a passive state as a piece of space debris.
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