AEROSPACE/AERONAUTICS DESIGN STARTUPS

AND THEIR INSTANCES

• The Indian space tech sector is soaring to new heights.

• According to data, funding into this sector jumped 198.67 percent in 2021
touching $67.2 million across 11 rounds, up from $22.5 million in 2020 across
nine rounds.
• Ever since the Indian central government took steps to privatise the space sector,
the number of startups in the sector increased to 47 in 2021 from 11 in 2019, as
per the Economic Survey 2022.
Some of the Indian Aerospace startups are:

1. Dhruva Space

Location: Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Founders: Sanjay Nekkanti, Krishna Penamakuru, Abhay Egoor

Founded: 2012

Capital raised: USD 6.7 M

Investors: Mumbai Angels, Punit Motihar, Ravikant Reddy

• The company works on small satellites for commercial, academic markets

and the government. Currently, it’s working with ISRO and ESA.

• Dhruva Space signed a deal with AMSAT in 2014 to work jointly on an

amateur radio satellite.

• In 2020 the company joined forces with Skyroot by signing an MoU to work
on a joint space mission.

• Launched in 2012 by Sanjay Nekkanti, an alumnus of SRM University and

later joined by Abhay Egoor, Krishna Teja, and Chaitanya Dora, all alumni
of BITS-Pilani, Dhruva Space is focused on building full-stack space
engineering solutions.
• The spacetech startup is based out of Hyderabad, India, and Graz, Austria.

• The platform offers modular application-agnostic satellite platforms to

enable faster, reliable, and cost-effective access to space.

• Coupled with providing launch and ground station services, Dhruva Space
also provides integrated one-stop access to the clients in owning and
operating space-based assets.

• The startup is active across space, launch, and ground segments and
supports both civil and defence clients worldwide.

• Dhruva Space has already started to foster industry-academia

collaborations and has already collaborated with BITS - Hyderabad, and IIT
Hyderabad. It is incubated in the European Space Agency’s Business
Incubation Centre in Austria, providing them access to the European
market and technology.

• In October 2021, it raised Rs 22 crore led by IAN Fund and Blue Ashva
Capital.
 2. Pixxel

Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka

Founders: Awais Ahmed, Kshitij Khandelwal

Founded: 2018

Capital raised: USD 8 Million

Investors: TechStar, Omnivore, Ryan Johnson, Blume Ventures, Lightspeed

Ventures, GrowX ventures, Inventus, Lightspeed Indian Partners

• Pixxel is the only space tech startup that qualified for the 2019 Techstars
Startbust Space Accelerator in LA, California, from Asia.

• In 2020 the startup also partnered with Newspace India Limited (NSIL), a
commercial arm of ISRO to launch a remote sensing satellite of Pixxel on
ISRO’s PSLV rocket.

• The company is planning to launch the ‘World’s highest resolution

hyperspectral satellite constellation.’
• Launched in 2019 by 20-year-olds Awais Ahmed and Kshitij Khandelwal,
Los Angeles and Bengaluru-based spacetech startup Pixxel is creating a
health monitor for the planet by building and launching the hyperspectral
imaging satellites.

• It claims to have worked with notable organisations such as the ISRO,

NASA JPL and SpaceX among space stalwarts. It is also backed by
Lightspeed, Radical Ventures, Relativity's Jordan Noone, Seraphim
Capital, Ryan Johnson, Blume Ventures, Sparta LLC, growX ventures,
Inventus Capital, and Omnivore VC among others.

• Pixxel says its platform unlocks a range of novel environment and

sustainability use cases, offering advanced tools for agriculture, oil and
gas, mining, and environmental agencies to analyse geospatial composites
of the earth’s surface in real-time through a simple API (application
programming interface). This level of precise detail will provide deep
insights for the government to control and manage risk activities across
several industries.

• The startup also successfully retrieved its first hyper spectral

satellite images recently from a camera that was launched last year with
partners NanoAvionics and Dragonfly Aerospace.

• In April 2022, it launched its first fully-fledged commercial

satellite Shakuntala (Technology Demonstrator-2) with the SpaceX Falcon-
9 rocket. Shakuntala hosts one of the highest resolution hyperspectral
commercial cameras ever flown to space, bringing it one step closer to
building a 24x7 health monitor for the planet.

• Traditional earth imaging collects data in the visible light spectrum,

limiting the end use cases. Hyperspectral imaging collects data across 40x
more wavelengths and can be used for a myriad of applications in India
such as monitoring methane emissions, quantifying carbon sequestration,
and monitoring disease outbreaks across cropland.

• In March 2022, it raised $25 million in a Series A funding led by Radical

Ventures, a Toronto-based firm known for investing in entrepreneurs that
use artificial intelligence to transform massive industries.
 3. Agnikul Cosmos

Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Founders: Syed Khadri, Satyanarayanan Chakravarthy, Srinath

Ravichandran, Janardhana Raju

Founded: 2016

Capital raised: USD 14.5 M

Investors: Artha Indian Ventures, Globevestors, Speciale Invest, Pi

Ventures, Angel Fund, Sriram Krishnan, Naval Ravikant, Aarti Ramamurthy,
Anand Mahindra.

• Agnikul recently launched the world’s first fully 3D rocket engine, the
‘Agnilet’ a semi-cryogenic rocket engine.

• It was India’s first space startup that entered into an NDA with the DoS,
Department of Space under the newly established Indian National Space
Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe). It aims to develop and
launch its small-lift launch vehicle namely ‘Agnibaan’ by 2022.
• Founded in 2017 by Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM, and Professor SR
Chakravarthy, Chennai-based Agnikul is involved in building a private
small satellite launch vehicle. Its core product, Agnibaan, is a smallsat
launch vehicle capable of carrying up to 100 kg of payload to Low Earth
orbits.

• Earlier in 2021, the startup test-fired the world’s first 3D printed rocket
engine Agnilet and had said it will undertake more such tests in the
remainder of the year.

• In May last year, it raised $11 million in a Series A funding round led by
Mayfield India. Existing investors including pi Ventures, Speciale Invest
and Artha Venture Fund also participated in the round.

• The spacetech startup had raised $3.1 million in its pre-series A funding in
March 2020, and a seed round from Speciale Invest in 2019.

• In September 2021, it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with

the Department of Space to access ISRO's facilities and expertise and
undertake tests for its single-piece 3D-printed semi cryo engine and other
systems.
 4. MeghVaahan

Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Founders: Prashanth Miryala

Founded: Feb 2021

Capital raised: USD 20.5 K

• MeghaVaahan is a newly established space tech startup that designs,

develops and manufactures spacecraft, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV),
and aircraft-related commercial and defence machinery.
 5. Aantriksh

Location: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Founders: Ankit Kumar

Founded: July 2017

Capital raised: USD 2.7 M

Investors: Ankit Kumar

• Aantriksh is a space exploration, technology and education company.

• The company funds, supports and connects different innovative startups

through an innovative group of programmes and people to increase
sustainable growth of the economy.
 6. Skyroot Aerospace

Location: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

Founders: Naga Bharath Daka, Pawan Kumar Chandana

Founded: 2018

Capital raised: USD 14.9 M

Investors: Sutton, Vedanshu Investment, Solar Group, Mukesh Bansal,

Mahesh Kolli

• Skyroot Aerospace is the first-ever privately-owned startup to develop a

possibility of making a homegrown rocket engine.

• The startup develops small satellite launch vehicles (SSLVs). On february 8th
2021, Skyroot partnered with Bellatrix Aerospace to use the OTV with their
launch vehicle of Vikram series.
• The company has been developing its first launch vehicle, “Vikram-I,”
expected to be launched by December 2021.

Some of the global Aerospace startups are:

 1.Alén Space develops Nanosatellites

• Traditionally, satellites are large objects and typically need a lot of time and
money to be placed in orbit.

• However, with advances in space tech, startups are now able to rapidly
develop small satellites at a fraction of the cost.

• Some satellites weigh as little as 1-10 kg and are known as nanosatellites.

• Additionally, these are easy-to-upgrade systems that usually participate as

members of nanosatellite constellations to advance space communication
technologies.

• Spanish startup Alén Space offers ready-to-launch nanosatellites. The

startup develops communication hardware, mission control, onboard
software, and turnkey apps for data transmission. These are assembled to
provide plug-and-play solutions for use cases in various applications of the
Internet of Things (IoT), aircraft surveillance, and signals intelligence.
2.CesiumAstro advances Space Communication
systems

• Telecommunication is a major application area for satellites in orbit.

Satellites communicate amongst others in the constellation as well as
transmit signals back to earth.
•
With the growth in small satellites, most of them just a few inches across,
more space tech startups are putting up constellations of satellites in the
orbit. As a result, the communication needs of new satellites within
constellations are inspiring new advances in communication systems.

• The US-based startup CesiumAstro provides out-of-the-box communication

systems for satellites, launch vehicles, drones, and other space or airborne
platforms. SBC-1461 is a single-board computer that operates in low-earth
orbit (LEO) by design.

• The credit-card-sized framework comprises a quad-core processor, error-

correcting memory card, mass storage, and multiple data interfaces.

• The startup also manufactures multi-beam active-phased array systems, Ka-

band phased array communication system, and a cross-link communications
payload, among other solutions.
3.ENPULSION specializes in Electric Spacecraft
Propulsion

• The propellant constitutes a large part of a rocket’s weight.

• Electric propulsion enhances the performance of thrusters, and delivers

equivalent thrust, with a fraction of the propellant required for chemical
thrusters.

• As a result, rocket systems become more mass-efficient and the cost of

launches is reduced.

• Electric propulsion also considerably increases the lifetime of satellites,

ultimately extending mission durations.

• Austrian space technology startup ENPULSION manufactures electric

propulsion systems.

• The startup develops the IFM Nano Thruster technology based on the field-
emission electric propulsion (FEEP).

• Electrode voltages control the thrust, enabling excellent levels of control

over both full and low thrust ranges.

• Also, the modular design of the thruster provides custom advantages for
missions.
 4.mu Space builds Aviation Internet Solutions
• Conventional inflight connectivity via air-to-ground (ATG) networks is
prohibitively expensive, working only in particular circumstances.

• However, LEO satellite constellations enable high-speed satellite

connectivity and have the potential to disrupt the aviation internet market.

• These satellite constellations also open up possibilities for IoT-based

solutions for in-flight operations.

• The same technology extends internet connectivity to rural off-the-grid

locations as well.

• Thai startup mu Space develops satellite communication technologies.

• The startup offers in-flight connectivity (IFC) technology and a self-stabilizing

IFC antenna that allows it to send and receive signals from a moving aircraft.

• This technology uses a network of satellites to offer wide coverage over

flight routes.

• The startup also provides solutions for satellite monitoring, remote ground
access, maritime connectivity, and 5G wireless.

5.Infostellar offers Ground Segment as a Service

• Among other things, the success of a satellite depends on ground-based
elements such as earth stations, mission control, remote terminals, and
other facilities.

• The ground segment infrastructure is often expensive to operate and

maintain compared to more cost-effective solutions, designed for small
satellites.

• This provides the necessary encouragement for startups to develop

solutions for the advancement in space technology.

• Japanese startup Infostellar provides a Ground Segment-as-a-Service

platform.

• StellarStation helps satellites access ground stations around the world

through a single application programming interface (API).

• The third-party ground stations earn revenue by sharing surplus capacity on

the platform.

• With 99.5% platform availability and best practices for security, this solution
helps space businesses improve their services.