India’s IN-SPACe selects a consortium led by Pixxel for a national EO constellation. Photo: IN-SPACe

India is investing in a national Earth Observation (EO) constellation, selecting Pixxel to lead a consortium of companies under a public-private partnership framework.

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) announced the initiative on Tuesday, led by Pixxel with the consortium including Piersight Space, Satsure Analytics India, and Dhruva Space. 

The consortium has been tasked with building a constellation of 12 EO satellites over the next five years equipped with panchromatic, multispectral, hyperspectral, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors. It will deliver both data and value-added services for climate change monitoring, disaster management, agriculture, infrastructure, marine surveillance, national security, and urban planning. 

Pixxel said that all satellites will be manufactured domestically, launched on Indian rockets, and controlled from within the country.

Pixxel operates hyperspectral satellites. PierSight has SAR capabilities, and SatSure, with its subsidiary KaleidEO, will provide its optical and multi-spectral payload. Dhruva Space is building one of India’s largest spacecraft manufacturing facilities and has expertise across space, launch deployment, and ground. 

“Being the winning proposal to build India’s national EO constellation is a major milestone for Pixxel and our consortium members. This is India’s moment to lead the world in space-powered solutions,” commented Awais Ahmed, founder and CEO of Pixxel. Ahmed called it a “historic mission.” 

“The EO-PPP presents a tremendous opportunity to serve both India’s and the world’s growing geospatial intelligence needs. Each partner in this consortium brings complementary strengths, and together we represent the power of four teams working to truly democratise access to space-based data,” Dhruva Space CEO Sanjay Nekkanti added.