Four startups including Dhruva Space to test technologies onboard PSLV-C58 mission on Jan 1

ISRO's PSLV rocket will liftoff for the 60th time on January 1 with the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) as the primary payload and contributions from four space startups as the secondary ones. The XPoSat will be used to study dynamics of X-ray sources such as black holes, neutron stars and magnetars among others. 

The mission designated PSLV-C58 is scheduled for launch at 9:10 am IST from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota using the PSLV's rare DL variant which has only been flown three times to date. 

The rocket will be loaded with ten secondary payloads that will be tested in the low-Earth orbit (LEO) after the XPoSat is inserted in the desired 650 km orbit. 

Big boost to space startups

One of the startups flying their payload onboard the PSLV-DL is Hyderabad-based Dhruva Space. It will validate the functionality and robustness of the P-30 nanosatellite platform and its various subsystems in-orbit as part of 'Launching Expeditions for Aspiring Payloads - Technology Demonstrator' (LEAP-TD) payload.

"The LEAP initiative of Dhruva Space marks a significant moment, underscoring our commitment to delivering full-stack and hosted payload solutions to our customers. This will be further enriched by new, upcoming pursuits in the fields of Earth Observation, IoT solutions, and more," Sanjay Nekkanti, Chief Executive Officer, Dhruva Space said.

Four Indian space startups are set to launch their payloads to demonstrate microsatellite subsystems, thrusters or small engines that keep satellites in desired orbits, and radiation shield coating for satellites on board ISRO's PSLV-C58 mission on Monday.

Notably, the said payloads will be tested using the fourth PSLV stage that will serve as a platform for PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM) experiment for technology demonstration. 

Moreover, the Bengaluru-based Bellatrix Aerospace will test its Rudra 0.3 HPGP, a green monopropellant thruster and ARKA-200, a heater-less hollow cathode for Hall thrusters.

Mumbai-based and IIT Bombay-incubated InspeCity Space Labs Private Limited, founded by Arindrajit Chowdhury, will test the Green Impulse TrAnsmitter (GITA), a Green biopropellant CubeSat propulsion unit. 

Another Hyderabad-based startup TakeMe2Space will test its Radiation Shielding Experimental Module (RSEM) that is designed to assess the effectiveness of Tantalum coating that would help increase the lifespan of a CubeSat.

The PS4 stage will also be used to test the Women Engineered Satellite (WESAT) developed by Thiruvananthapuram-based LBS Institute of Technology for Women, that aims to measure solar irradiance and UV Index.

In addition to this, Mumbai-based KJ Somaiya Institute of Technology will have an amateur radio satellite BeliefSat-0 onboard POEM. ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) has also supplied two payloads Fuel Cell Power System (FCPS) and Silicon-based High Energy Cell onboard POEM. The tenth payload is the Dust Experiment (DEX) from Ahmedabad-based Physical Research Laboratory designed to measure the interplanetary dust count.