Pixxel is a US and Indian private aerospace manufacturer company, aiming to put a constellation of 30+ earth observation micro-satellites into a sun-synchronous orbit in 2020s.[1][2] It was started by BITS Pilani graduates Awais Ahmed and Kshitij Khandelwal in February 2019, was Asia's only space startup to qualify for the 2019 Techstars Starburst Space Accelerator in Los Angeles.[3][4][5]
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | February 2019 |
| Founders | Awais Ahmed, Kshitij Khandelwal |
| Headquarters | , India |
Key people | Awais Ahmed (CEO) Kshitij Khandelwal (CTO) |
| Services | Satellite Imagery |
| Website | pixxel |
History
Pixxel's first satellite, Anand, was earlier scheduled to be launched in late 2020 on a Soyuz rocket.[6] It later entered in an agreement with India's state owned NSIL to use a PSLV rocket for launching it in early 2021.[7] Its launch on board the PSLV-C51 was delayed in February 2021 due to technical issues.[8] It is now expected to launch on-board the PSLV-C53/EOS-06 mission.[9]
Pixxel launched its second satellite, Shakuntala/TD-2 on a SpaceX Falcon-9 Rideshare mission, Transporter-4 on April 1, 2022.[9][10]
Anand and Shakuntala are a part of the three demonstration satellites that Pixxel plans to launch. It plans to launch 6 satellites in the first quarter of 2023 and 12 more by the end of 2023.[9]
Pixxel announced that it will provide the highest resolution commercially available hyper-spectral images. It raised $2.3 million more in March 2021 from Techstars, Omnivore VC and others. This is in addition to the $5 million it raised in August 2020 from Lightspeed Ventures and others.[11]
The company claims that its constellation is designed to provide global coverage at a revisit of every 24 hours[12]
See also
References
- ^ Siddiqui, Huma (20 May 2020). "Pixxel aiming big to put India on the global space map, says Awais Ahmed, Founder and CEO". The Financial Express. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ "Pixxel to Launch its Maiden Satellite". Silicon India. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ Chakraberty, Sumit (11 August 2019). "How this student startup landed in a space accelerator". Livemint. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ Sheldon, John (5 November 2019). "India's Pixxel Partners With Italy's Leaf Space For Leaf Line Service Agreement". SpaceWatch.Global. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ "Skymet joins hands with Bengaluru-based firm Pixxel for earth imageries". The Hindu @businessline. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ Jayakumar, PB (7 July 2020). "Indian space-tech startup prepares to launch 24 satellites; aims to send first one by Nov". Business Today. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ "Pixxel signs pact with NSIL to launch India's first private remote-sensing satellite". The Hindu. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
- ^ "Space startup Pixxel's satellite launch delayed again". The Economic Times. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ a b c Das, Shouvik (1 April 2022). "Pixxel launches its first satellite aboard SpaceX, to launch seven more by 2023". mint. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- ^ published, Mike Wall (1 April 2022). "SpaceX launches 40 satellites into orbit, lands rocket at sea". Space.com. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- ^ Etherington, Darrell (17 March 2021). "Pixxel closes $7.3M seed round and unveils commercial hyperspectral imaging product". TechCrunch. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Technology". www.pixxel.space. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
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