BENGALURU (Reuters) – Pixxel, an Indian space technology startup, successfully launched three of its six hyperspectral imaging satellites aboard a SpaceX rocket from California on Tuesday. The satellites were launched at 1915 GMT from the Vandenberg Space Force Base, as shown in a live telecast by SpaceX. This launch represents a significant achievement for the burgeoning private space sector in India and for Pixxel, a five-year-old startup supported by Google.
The primary objective of these satellites is to utilize hyperspectral imaging technology, which enables the capture of detailed data across hundreds of light bands. This technology has various applications across industries such as agriculture, mining, environmental monitoring, and defense. In the context of India’s agrarian economy, the satellites are expected to provide valuable insights for improving crop yields. Additionally, hyperspectral imaging can aid in resource tracking, oil spill monitoring, and detailed mapping of geographic boundaries with a level of precision surpassing current technologies.
The remaining three satellites are slated for deployment in the second quarter of this year. Notably, the SpaceX rocket also carried a satellite from another Indian space firm, Diganatara.
According to Pixxel’s founder and Chief Executive Awais Ahmed, the satellite imagery market is projected to reach $19 billion by 2029. Hyperspectral imaging, being a relatively new technology, has the potential to capture a significant portion of this market, ranging from $500 million to $1 billion. Ahmed revealed Pixxel’s plans to expand its satellite fleet by adding 18 more spacecraft to the existing six. The startup has already attracted around 65 clients, including prominent entities like Rio Tinto, British Petroleum, and India’s Ministry of Agriculture, some of whom have begun paying for data obtained from Pixxel’s demonstration satellites.
While the United States remains a dominant player in satellite launches due to the presence of private companies like SpaceX and lucrative government contracts, India, despite its established space capabilities, currently holds only a 2% share of the global commercial space market.
(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Angela Christy in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)
