Company:Pixxel

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Short description: Indian aerospace company

Pixxel
TypePrivate
IndustryAerospace
FoundedFebruary 2019; 5 years ago (2019-02)
Founders
  • Awais Ahmed
  • Kshitij Khandelwal
Headquarters
Bengaluru
,
India
Key people
  • Awais Ahmed
    (CEO)
  • Kshitij Khandelwal
    (CTO)
ServicesSatellite imagery
Website{{{1}}}

Pixxel is an Indian[1] based private space technology company, aiming to put a constellation of 30+ hyperspectral Earth observation micro-satellites into a Sun-synchronous orbit in the 2020s.[2][3] The company is headquartered in El Segundo, California and Bengaluru, Karnataka. It was founded by Awais Ahmed and Kshitij Khandelwal while still studying at BITS Pilani in 2019.[4] Pixxel was also Asia's only space startup to qualify for the 2019 Techstars Starburst Space Accelerator in Los Angeles .[5][6]

History

Pixxel's first satellite, Anand, was earlier scheduled to be launched in late 2020 on a Soyuz rocket.[7] It later entered in an agreement with India's state owned NSIL to use a PSLV rocket for launching it in early 2021.[8] Its launch on board the PSLV-C51 was delayed in February 2021 due to technical issues.[9] It is now expected to launch on-board the PSLV-C54/EOS-06 mission.[10] The PSLV-C54 was successfully launched on 26 November 2022 at 11:56 IST / 06:12 UTC.

Pixxel launched the first of its three demonstration satellite through a hosted camera payload partnership with the Lithuanian firm, NanoAvionics on 30 June 2021 in their D2/Altacom-1 satellite on a SpaceX Falcon-9 rideshare mission, Transporter-2.[11]

Pixxel launched its second satellite, Shakuntala/TD-2 on a SpaceX Falcon-9 rideshare mission, Transporter-4 on April 1, 2022.[10][12]

Anand and Shakuntala are a part of the three demonstration satellites that Pixxel planned to launch. It plans to launch the first 6 satellites of its Firefly constellation in 2023 and 12 more by the end of 2024.[10]

Pixxel announced that it will provide the highest resolution commercially available hyperspectral images. It raised $2.3 million 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.[13] Canadian firm Radical Ventures led a $25 million funding round in March 2022. The company has raised total funding of $33 million.[11]

The company claims that its constellation is designed to provide global coverage at a revisit of every 24 hours.[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Bengaluru space start-up Pixxel bags contract to provide hyperspectral imagery to U.S. reconnaissance office" (in en-IN). The Hindu. 2023-03-23. ISSN 0971-751X. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/bengaluru-space-start-up-pixxel-bags-contract-to-provide-hyperspectral-imagery-to-us-reconnaissance-office/article66652805.ece. 
  2. ↑ Siddiqui, Huma (2020-05-20). "Pixxel aiming big to put India on the global space map, says Awais Ahmed, Founder and CEO" (in en-US). https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/science/pixxel-aiming-big-to-put-india-on-the-global-space-map-says-awais-ahmed-founder-and-ceo/1965321/. 
  3. ↑ "Pixxel to Launch its Maiden Satellite" (in en). 13 November 2019. http://www.siliconindia.com/news/general/Pixxel-to-Launch-its-Maiden-Satellite-nid-210980-cid-1.html. 
  4. ↑ Chakraberty, Sumit (2019-08-11). "How this student startup landed in a space accelerator" (in en). https://www.livemint.com/companies/start-ups/how-this-student-startup-landed-in-a-space-accelerator-1565535908270.html. 
  5. ↑ Sheldon, John (2019-11-05). "India's Pixxel Partners With Italy's Leaf Space For Leaf Line Service Agreement" (in en-US). https://spacewatch.global/2019/11/indias-pixxel-partners-with-italys-leaf-space-for-leaf-line-service-agreement/. 
  6. ↑ "Skymet joins hands with Bengaluru-based firm Pixxel for earth imageries" (in en). 24 October 2019. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/skymet-joins-hands-with-bengaluru-based-firm-pixxel-for-earth-imageries/article29787148.ece. 
  7. ↑ Jayakumar, PB (7 July 2020). "Indian space-tech startup prepares to launch 24 satellites; aims to send first one by Nov". https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/indian-space-tech-startup-prepares-to-launch-24-satellites-aims-to-send-first-one-by-dec/story/406095.html. 
  8. ↑ "Pixxel signs pact with NSIL to launch India's first private remote-sensing satellite". The Hindu. 2020-12-04. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pixxel-signs-pact-with-nsil-to-launch-indias-first-private-remote-sensing-satellite/article33252294.ece. 
  9. ↑ "Space startup Pixxel's satellite launch delayed again". The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/space-startup-pixxels-satellite-launch-delayed-again/articleshow/81174825.cms. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Das, Shouvik (2022-04-01). "Pixxel launches its first satellite aboard SpaceX, to launch seven more by 2023" (in en). https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/pixxel-launches-its-first-satellite-aboard-spacex-to-launch-seven-more-by-march-2023-11648831839650.html. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Pixxel raises $25 million for hyperspectral imaging constellation" (in en-US). 2022-03-29. https://spacenews.com/pixxel-raises-25-million-for-hyperspectral-imaging-constellation/. 
  12. ↑ "SpaceX launches 40 satellites into orbit, lands rocket at sea" (in en). 2022-04-01. https://www.space.com/spacex-transporter-4-launch-rocket-landing. 
  13. ↑ Etherington, Darrell (2021-03-17). "Pixxel closes $7.3M seed round and unveils commercial hyperspectral imaging product" (in en-US). https://social.techcrunch.com/2021/03/17/pixxel-closes-7-3m-seed-round-and-unveils-commercial-hyperspectral-imaging-product/. 
  14. ↑ "Technology". https://www.pixxel.space/technology. 



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