India’s 1st PPP model EO satellite constellation

News: The IN-SPACe under the Union Government’s Department of Space, has announced the selection of a consortium led by Bengaluru-based PixxelSpace India (PSI) for developing India’s first indigenous constellation of earth observing (EO) satellites under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

India’s 1st PPP model EO satellite constellation

• Developed by: The constellation will be developed by a consortium led by Bengaluru-based PixxelSpace India (PSI) along with Piersight Space, Satsure Analytics India and Dhruva Space.
• The consortium is selected by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), under the Union Government’s Department of Space.
• Aim: The consortium is aimed at designing, building and operating India’s first fully indigenous constellation of 12 state-of-the-art commercial EO satellites.
• It is the first such initiative in the Indian space sector wherein a private consortium will invest Rs 1,200 crore for the next five years to launch a constellation of 12 state-of-the-art EO satellites.
• PPP model
  • India will provide technical, strategic and policy support.
  • The private firms will own and operate the EO system, including the satellite manufacturing, ground infrastructure, commercialization of data services and launch from India.
• Equipment: The satellites will be equipped with panchromatic, multispectral, hyperspectral, and microwave synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors.
• Services to be provided
  • The constellation will deliver Analysis Ready Data (ARD) and Value-Added Services (VAS) for applications in –
    • climate change monitoring,
    • disaster management,
    • agriculture,
    • infrastructure,
    • marine surveillance,
    • national security and
    • urban planning
• Significance
  • It will also cater to the rising demand of high-quality geospatial intelligence.
  • The generation of high-resolution, indigenous satellite data will reduce reliance on foreign sources.
  • This will not just strengthen India’s position in the global space market, but will also ensure data sovereignty.