This Bengaluru Startup Launches India's 1st Private Satellite Constellation For Earth Imaging - Details

Space startup Pixxel, which is based out of Bengaluru has made history on Wednesday by launching India's first private constellation of earth imaging satellites called Firefly, thereby making a grand entrance into the fast-emerging field of hyper-spectral imaging.

Launched by a SpaceX rocket, three of Pixxel's six Firefly satellites are the world's highest resolution commercial-grade hyperspectral satellites with the capability to observe the earth in over 150 bands.

This technology is useful in sectors as diverse as agriculture and defence.

Traditional hyperspectral satellites provide images with a 30-meter resolution, but Pixxel's Fireflies are capable of capturing finer details of 5-meter resolution.

"For the first time a 5 meter hyperspectral is available. That is what makes it unique, not just in India, but globally," Pixxel co-founder and CEO Awais Ahmed were cited in a PTI report.

The company also plans to launch three more Firefly satellites in the next two months and follow it up with 18 more in the near future.

"This milestone by Pixxel marks a significant step forward  as hyperspectral satellite imaging has a potential to play a transformative role for many use cases, especially the defence sector. The advanced hyperspectral imaging capabilities of these satellites are poised to unlock new possibilities," Lt Gen A K Bhatt, Director General, Indian Space Association (ISpA), said.

The market for hyperspectral observations is still not tested as earth images of such finer resolution are not available commercially.

The global satellite imagery market accounts for $4.5 billion and the image analytics amounts to an additional $14 billion, according to Ahmed.

"So, a 19-billion dollar market is already there. On top of that hyperspectral can help make it even bigger. Probably out of the four billion dollars or so, one billion dollars is the total available obtainable market for hyperspectral," Ahmed added.

The firm has already taken on more than 60 clients, including the US National Reconnaissance Organization, companies like Rio Tinto, British Petroleum, and the Union Ministry of Agriculture, who are receiving hyper-spectral data from its technology demonstration satellites.

Pixxel's took off in April 2022 with the launch of Shakuntala, India's first private Earth-imaging hyperspectral satellite, aboard a SpaceX mission, followed by Anand on ISRO's PSLV.

The start-up has also raised $95 million in funding, making it the most well-funded hyperspectral imaging space startup globally.

(With PTI inputs)