Bengaluru-based space tech startup Pixxel is set to finally launch its Anand satellite, which has been in development for three years, aboard the Indian Space Research Organisation’s PSLV-C54 rocket on Saturday.
Pixxel is aiming to build a constellation of hyperspectral earth imaging satellites and analytical tools to mine insights from space data.
Hyperspectral imaging takes a spectrum of light that it divides into hundreds of narrow spectral bands so you can better understand and discern anything on the planet.
How hyperspectral imagery looks like | Source: Pixxel
Pixxel has had its share of difficulties -- from the team getting evicted out of its office space due to non-payment of bills to unforeseen delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic – before getting so close to the launch of Anand.
This scheduled launch follows an investment by Accenture Ventures into Pixxel in August and the launch of its first satellite, Shakuntala, as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-4 rocket launch in April.
This launch also comes on the heels of Skyroot Aerospace's landmark launch of its Vikram-S rocket, which made the start-up the first private Indian entity to launch a rocket into space.
In addition to Pixxel, ISRO's PSLV-C54 will also carry Hyderabad-based space tech start-up Dhruva Space's Thybolt 1 and 2 satellites, along with Oceansat satellites.
String of delays
Anand, a hyperspectral imaging satellite, was supposed to be Pixxel's first launch after it was conceived by the start-up's co-founders Awais Ahmed and Kshijit Khandelwal, vice president (VP) of electronics Manas Gupta and VP of mechanics Tejaswi Hareesh in 2018, while they were students at BITS, Pilani.
However, as the then-fledgling entrepreneurs soon realised, it was easier to conceive something than than getting it done.
"It was our first concept, and our goal was to prove this hyperspectral technology that we were building for space. But we had no money in our pockets, nothing," co-founder Khandelwal, who also serves as the chief operating officer of the startup, told Moneycontrol.
In 2019, the startup raised early rounds of funding and began working on Anand in February with a small team alongside vendors and suppliers.
Pixxel co-founders (L) Kshitij Khandelwal and (R) Awais Ahmed
"There was one time when we didn't have the money to pay our vendors for the contract. And they evicted us from the office because we didn't have enough. We went through all of that in 2019," Khandelwal recalled.
The startup pushed through those difficulties and by 2020 it was ready for launch. "Our mission got booked on a launch vehicle but then Covid-19 hit around the time. So the timelines got delayed," he said.
After that, the start-up was looking at a launch with ISRO in February 2021. However, that too didn't materialise with the start-up facing vendor-related issues.
"It was a bit disappointing, to be honest. We had worked a lot, especially with the team that was working on mission control. But that gave us a lot of clarity, and we took a step back to revisit a lot of our concepts," Khandelwal said.
"So through the two years, this mission has been a testbed for us to learn a lot of new things. The team had never built satellites before. We were testing and figuring out how a mission control should be, what the operating procedures should be, and so on," the 24-year-old added.
Anand was next booked for a launch with ISRO along with Oceansat in October 2021. However, the mission got delayed and is now slated to launch on Saturday.
Apart from being a learning experience, these delays have also aided the start-up in team calming its nerves.
"We have been preparing for this machine for two years now. So we have had enough time in our dress rehearsals, enough practice. So the team is very relaxed compared to what it was a couple of years ago," he explained.
As of now, the startup is doing a rehearsal of what the team should do in case there is any anomaly during the satellite launch.
What Anand will do
Anand will be a 15kg- demo satellite for Pixxel and it will help in proving its imaging qualities and technical capabilities, Khandelwal said, adding that it will not be used for commercial operations.
"For the next couple of years, we expect Anand to beam down satellite imagery on a fairly regular basis. We will be using it to calibrate instruments, to do some science experiments, especially around agriculture, vegetation, disaster response, and so on," Khandelwal said.
Anand satellite being prepared | Source: Twitter
After PSLV-C54 launches the hyperspectral satellite in low earth orbit, it will take a while for the satellite to be fully operational.
He said, "It all depends on how quickly you are able to get through a phase called the launch and early operations (LEO) phase. Firstly, we need to make sure the satellite is stable which may take a week.
"Next, the camera on the satellite needs to be tuned for brightness, exposure time, and other coefficients. So the idea is we have to calibrate the system, and once that is complete, we will get into full operations," he said.
Pixxel team working on Anand hyperspectral satellite | Source: Twitter
The long timeline for the satellite to be operational is also because the startup can communicate with the satellite twice or thrice a day when it flies over India.
"So you're looking at very limited times in which, one or three times a day, there will be a 10 minutes window," Khandelwal said.
What's next
The start-up is concentrating on getting its constellation of hyperspectral satellites ready for launch by October 2023, Khandelwal who also serves as the chief technology officer (CTO) of the start-up said, which would mark the beginning of full-scale commercial operations.
These satellites will be 40 kg satellites, a cuboid-shaped system with a camera on top, he explained.
These satellites will last for seven years, with data rates of 100x. "They will have the propulsion to ensure that it stays in orbit and doesn't come down."
"They will also have the propulsion to ensure that once its tenure is over, it will come down instead of being debris in low-earth orbit," he said, adding that the start-up has been working on them for the last two years.
Pixxel team next aims to launch its satellite constellation by next year
However, it is important to note that the startup is already providing commercial services with the Shakuntala satellite that was launched in April this year.
Although Shakuntala, like Anand, is a demo satellite, the start-up is generating a lot of sample data and has been providing it to customers, apart from providing them with regular imagery, he added.
Difference between SpaceX and ISRO launches
In April, Pixxel launched its satellite aboard a SpaceX rocket, and as Khandelwal notes, there is a marked difference in how they are working for the missions.
The Pixxel satellite that was launched aboard SpaceX rocket in April | Source: Pixxel
"For the SpaceX launch, we did not take a big charge on the controls. We focused on generating command requests, we sent them across to the SpaceX mission control. They sent the telemetry data and interpreted it, and worked with the images," he said.
With ISRO, Pixxel is taking care of the entirety of operations, end-to-end.
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