Space startups Astrome, Azista, Dhruva win IN-SPACe nod to develop satellite bus platforms

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) has selected three private companies - Bengaluru-based Astrome Technologies and Hyderabad-based Azista Industries and Dhruva Space - to develop indigenous small satellite bus platforms for hosted payload services.

Each company will receive a grant of ₹5 crore to support the development and demonstration of a robust, modular and scalable small satellite bus.

IN-SPACe had invited applications from Indian Non-Governmental Entities (NGEs) to be part of its Satellite Bus as a Service (SBaaS) initiative in April 2025. The three companies were selected from 15 proposals received up to July 2025, following a rigorous, transparent and multi-stage evaluation process.

The satellite buses developed under the SBaaS initiative will serve as cost-effective platforms to accommodate multiple hosted payloads, catering to both domestic and global market requirements.

“The Satellite Bus as a Service initiative marks an important step in building a robust, sustainable and globally competitive small satellite manufacturing ecosystem in India. By enabling indigenous satellite bus platforms and integrating them with India’s emerging small satellite launch capabilities, we are laying the foundation for India to become a preferred global destination for end-to-end small satellite manufacturing, launch and hosted payload services,” Pawan Goenka, Chairman, IN-SPACe, said.

IN-SPACe will continue to support the selected companies through milestone-linked grant disbursements and by facilitating access to ISRO/DoS and IN-SPACe infrastructure, testing facilities and technical expertise, as required. In subsequent phases, IN-SPACe plans to enable hosted payload missions on these satellite bus platforms, further expanding public–private partnership-led programmes that allow industry to scale from platform development to operational missions.

“The SBaaS initiative is a key enabler for the development and manufacturing of indigenous small satellite bus platforms in India. By providing standardised and flight-proven satellite bus platforms for hosted payload missions, IN-SPACe aims to reduce entry barriers for payload developers while strengthening domestic manufacturing capabilities and reinforcing India’s position in the rapidly growing global hosted payload services market,” Rajeev Jyoti, Director – Technical Directorate, IN-SPACe, said.

The announcement further strengthens IN-SPACe’s continuing efforts to enable private sector capability-building in satellite platforms and hosted payload services. Recently, IN-SPACe signed a concession agreement with PixxelSpace India and Allied Orbits Pvt Ltd (an SPV formed by a Pixxel-led consortium) for the establishment of an Earth Observation constellation under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework. The partnership aims to advance the development of indigenous Earth Observation capabilities through Indian industry and establish a robust commercial EO ecosystem.