The successful launch of India’s first private Earth imaging satellite constellation, called “Firefly,” by Bangalore-based space start-up Pixxel marks a significant turning point for the nation’s space industry. The constellation establishes Pixxel as a pioneer in satellite-based precision imaging and represents a major advancement for India’s developing private space industry.
Pixxel, one of India’s most promising satellite technology startups, was founded in 2019 by Kshitij Khandelwal and Awais Ahmed, who were students at Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani.
The company has already raised $95 million and has locations in the US and India.
From Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the ‘Firefly’ constellation was launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into a low-Earth orbit of 550 kilometers.
Three more satellites are scheduled to launch later this year, while three of the satellites were deployed in a single mission.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), which presently has about 52 satellites in orbit, has been in charge of operating all of India’s high-precision Earth imaging satellites up to this point.
