IN-SPACe picks PixxelSpace India-led consortium for first indigenous commercial EO satellite constellation

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) has selected a consortium led by PixxelSpace India to design, build, and operate the country’s first fully indigenous commercial Earth Observation (EO) satellite constellation under the Public-Private Partnership (EO-PPP) model.

This constellation is a network of Earth-monitoring satellites that will capture high-quality images and data for uses like agriculture, disaster management, security, and urban planning.

The Bengaluru-based firm, along with Piersight Space, Satsure Analytics India, and Dhruva Space, emerged the winner after a bidding process, IN-SPACe announced on Tuesday. Three consortia were shortlisted after a technical evaluation including Astra Microwave Products (with Bharat Electronics Ltd., Sisir Radar & Spectragaze Systems), GalaxEye Space (with CoreEL), and PixxelSpace India. The final selection was based on financial bid assessment.

The project marks the first instance of a private consortium investing over ₹1,200 crore in India’s space sector to launch a constellation of 12 EO satellites over the next five years. The satellites will be equipped with panchromatic, multispectral, hyperspectral, and microwave Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors, aimed at delivering Analysis Ready Data (ARD) and Value-Added Services (VAS) for applications including climate monitoring, disaster management, agriculture, infrastructure, marine surveillance, national security, and urban planning.

This private consortium constellation is expected to reduce India’s dependence on foreign EO data, strengthen data sovereignty, and meet global demand for geospatial intelligence.

Under the EO-PPP framework, the government will extend strategic, technical, and policy support, while the consortium will own and operate the EO system. Responsibilities will include satellite manufacturing, launch operations from Indian soil, development of ground infrastructure, and commercialisation of data services.

“This initiative signals the coming of age of India’s private space industry in the space sector. It demonstrates the capability and confidence of Indian companies to lead large-scale, technologically advanced, and commercially viable space missions that serve both national and global markets. The EO-PPP model fosters an ecosystem where public and private capabilities reinforce each other to drive growth, innovation, and self-reliance,” said Dr. Pawan Goenka, Chairman, IN-SPACe in a statement.

The EO constellation will be deployed in phases over four years to expand coverage and service capabilities. Once operational, it will be one of the most advanced EO systems globally to be fully designed, built, and operated in India.

“Being the winning proposal to build India’s national EO constellation is a major milestone for Pixxel and our consortium members in India’s space story. Together with our partners Satsure, Dhruva and PierSight, we look forward to building world-class space-tech capabilities that serve the whole planet from Indian soil,” said Awais Ahmed, CEO of Pixxel, in a statement.