Dhruva Space to test new & advanced payloads aboard ISRO's PSLV rocket on April 22

The Hyderabad-based start-up Dhruva Space is set to test a device aboard ISRO's PSLV-C55 mission on Saturday that would allow storing of satellites in orbit for delayed deployment or utilisation for lunar missions.

The homegrown space engineering solutions provider will fly two variants of its Dhruva Satellite Orbital Deployer (DSOD) and a radio frequency module to support satellite-based data relay operations, it said in a statement.

The payloads — DSOD-3U and DSOD-6U — will be ferried on the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM). These satellite deployers are able to accommodate larger cubesats.

While the DSOD-3U is an extension of the DSOD-1U, the DSOD-6U will be tested for the delayed deployment of satellites in LEO or higher orbits.

"We look forward to testing our larger classes of separation systems so that customers can leverage these deployers to launch their own payloads beyond Earth's orbit,” Sanjay Nekkanti, CEO of Dhruva Space, said.

Interfacing of the spacecraft with the launch vehicle is a critical component of the deployment of satellites and the firm has indigenously developed deployment systems that are compatible with Indian Space Research Organisation's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.

In June last year, Dhruva Space successfully space-qualified its 1U Satellite Orbital Deployer and later in June launched two amateur communication satellites, Thybolt-1 and Thybolt-2 into low-earth orbits. Both missions were carried out on board PSLV rockets.