Space start-up Dhruva Space is set to launch its first commercial mission, LEAP-1, by deploying payloads for two Australia-based firms using its indigenously developed satellite platform.
The Hyderabad-based start-up will launch payloads from Australia's Akula Tech and Esper satellites aboard its P-30 satellite platform on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in Q3 of the current fiscal. AI payload Nexus-01 (Akula Tech) and hyperspectral imager OTR-2 (Esper) will fly on Dhruva's P-30 platform, which was successfully tested on ISRO's POEM-3 mission in January 2024.
The LEAP-1 mission is officially slated to launch aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 in Q3 2025, marking not just a significant Indo-Australian collaboration, but also growing support from the United States in Dhruva Space's global commercial journey, the company said.
"Following a successful qualification of the P-30 onboard ISRO's PSLV-C58, Dhruva Space is excited to take its indigenously developed P-30 satellite platform to the global market," said Sanjay Nekkanti, CEO and co-founder of Dhruva Space.
Dhruva Space's hosted payload offering LEAP (Launching Expeditions for Aspiring Payloads) integrates Ground Station-as-a-Service (GSaaS) and its proprietary Integrated Space Operations and Command Suite (ISOCS) for real-time mission management and payload data downlinking.