Pixxel, along with Dhruva Space, PierSight, and SatSure, has been selected by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to design, build, own, and operate India’s first national Earth observation satellite system (EOSS) under a public-private partnership framework.
The consortium will develop a 12-satellite constellation over the next four to five years with an investment exceeding INR 12 billion (US$137 million). The network will integrate sub-metre very high-resolution, wide-swath multispectral, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and hyperspectral satellites. These capabilities will enable applications in precision agriculture, water quality monitoring, land-use mapping, environmental compliance, disaster assessment, and infrastructure development.
The partnership will oversee the entire ecosystem—from satellite manufacturing and ground stations to value-added services and advanced analytics—serving both domestic and global customers. Operated under a satellite-as-a-service model, the programme ensures guaranteed national access to advanced EO data while leveraging private-sector efficiency for large-scale delivery.
All satellites will be built in India, launched aboard Indian rockets, and controlled domestically, reinforcing data sovereignty and reducing reliance on foreign imagery. The project aligns with India’s strategic space policy, which also promotes the use of the indigenous NavIC navigation system as an alternative to GPS for more accurate domestic navigation.
