Category: Space

  • HEX20 Profile on Asianet News

    Arun Raj K M did a nice profile of HEX20, a Kerala-based space startup.

    Here are the highlights from that story in English. These are translations made by Gemini. I’ve added a few links that could help you understand the backstories behind the names like Mayavi and Dinkan.

    1. News Anchor: Mayavi and Dinkan are the names of new satellites built by a Keralite startup. This is the next leap for HEX20, which successfully completed two CubeSat missions in a short period. Based in Thiruvananthapuram, this small startup is exploring new opportunities in the space market through the innovative concept of ‘CubeSat as a Service’.
    2. Arun Raj: Their business model helps other companies conduct in-orbit technology demonstrations using CubeSats. The satellite bus (chassis) and core technologies belong to HEX20, allowing clients to integrate their own experimental or observational payloads as needed. HEX20 opens up massive opportunities for companies aiming to execute complex space missions. Without the huge costs and complexities of building a full satellite from scratch, clients can evaluate their technology’s capabilities and refine their hardware at lower risk.
    3. HEX20 has launched two CubeSats into space so far: Nila last year, and KOYO (Kinetic Optical Yaw Observer) this past July. Both were launched aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter rideshare missions. KOYO was built for Taiwan’s National Central University.
    4. Dr. Manu Mohan (Tech Manager, HEX20): KOYO stands for ‘Kinetic Optical Yaw Observer’. It primarily carried payloads from Taiwan’s National Central University. As it orbits Earth, the satellite tumbles, so the initial payload was meant to measure its angular velocity or tumbling rate. We planned an operational lifespan of 6 months. According to UN guidelines, satellites in orbit must de-orbit within 25 years; at an altitude of 590 km, we expect it to naturally de-orbit in 5–6 years.
    5. Thomas C. Francis (Mechanical Engineer): For instance, KOYO is a 3U CubeSat measuring 300 mm x 100 mm x 100 mm. It gets deployed in space from inside a canister deployer. The first task is making sure it fits precisely into the deployer through accurate manufacturing. To withstand launcher vibrations and shocks, we conduct rigorous vibration and simulated space environment testing.
    6. Muhammed Saydali (Senior Electrical Engineer): We categorize our satellite buses into two main platforms based on mass and application: AX and NX. The NX platform accommodates satellites in the 20–50 kg range, whereas KOYO and Nila are built on the AX platform.
    7. Anamika A. Kamath (Electrical Engineer): The immediate upcoming mission is NILA-3, an In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD) testing a water-steam propulsion system developed by UK-based OOMSpace. That will launch within a few months this year. Following that are Mayavi and Dinkan. MAYA-V1 stands for ‘Multi Application Yearly Assimilated Vehicle 1’, which will form a series of satellite buses. DINK-N1 stands for ‘Direct Imaging Network Node 1’ and marks our entry into the 50 kg microsatellite class. We are targeting a late 2027 launch for these.
    8. Abhijith Sureshkumar (Ground Station Engineer): HEX20’s ground station is set up at the nearby Marine Engineering College. We currently operate two ground station setups capable of handling both UHF commercial and amateur bands. Since future missions like MAYA-V1 and DINK-N1 demand higher data rates, we are expanding our ground station capabilities to support higher frequency bands.
    9. Arun Raj: While many space startups keep mission data confidential, HEX20 stands out by making real-time KOYO telemetry available to the public via koyo.hex20.space.
    10. Shinjith George (Senior Electrical Engineer): We maintain a Class 8 cleanroom suited for integrating satellites up to 30 kg. Having finished KOYO, we are currently integrating NILA-3 here. Environmental tests—such as vibration and thermal-vacuum testing—are conducted at the IN-SPACe facility in Ahmedabad.
    11. Arun Raj: Beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) missions, HEX20 plans to expand into deep-space missions and larger satellite platforms. Collaborative missions with international partners, including the UAE Space Agency, are also in the pipeline.

  • Salvaging Starship

    SpaceX’s Starship Flight 13 is adrift in the Eastern Indian Ocean. The commentators expected it to explode but it did not. It just sat there – floating in the Ocean.

    Watch a minute of that splashdown in the video above to see how crazy this was. The ship continued to transmit on-board cameras views via Starlink after splashdown!

    Elon Musk announced that ships were going out to try and tow the ship back to port.

    Some ship watchers are now following this mission more closely. A YouTube channel called What’s Going on with Shipping? made a nice video about the challenges of an out in the ocean towing mission. As he says, the Norwegians are being sent out to sea to try and tow the ship back to port.

    I loved watching this especially since I have worked in a shipyard way back in 2011.

  • Vikram 1 Mission Aagaman Successful

    Vikram 1 lifted-off as if in a hurry from the First Launch Pad on 18 July 2026 at 12:05 PM. It cleared the launch pad and headed to orbit and placed two satellites in orbit. We now have India’s first successful launch of a launch vehicle by a non-governmental entity.

    I live-tooted on Mastodon where things remain calm. People just went crazy on X. A stream of congratulations followed.

    Before lift-off

    I have been recovering after a surgery earlier in the week. Hence, my father was also at home. I casted the webcast on YouTube on my TV. I was active on WhatsApp, Mastodon, and X.

    The webcast commentary frequently spoke over the callouts. You could hear the callouts better on the X webstream. However, I was not able to cast the X webstream on the TV.

    The lift-off reached a hold 5 minutes before lift-off scheduled for 11:30 AM. We saw that it was a Navigation Monitoring Failure hold. After a few minutes of discussions, the Automatic Launch Sequence was re-started with the lift-off time set to 12:05 PM. There were some anxious faces in the Mission Control Center.

    Countdown and Lift-off

    I breathed the first sigh of relief when the countdown went beyond the 5 minute mark. As the countdown went into 5 second call outs to each second countdown to zero, there was a great sense of being part of history.

    I felt there was a brief pause before the launch vehicle leaped off the launch pad. Lift-off and clearing the launch pad was an important launch milestone. The launch vehicle had not exploded on or off the launch pad. That was an achievement!

    The camera angle immediately after lift-off felt weird. The cheers from the Skyroot Aerospace team went over the calls for MaxQ. The graphs were textbook for the first two stages.

    There were some beautiful on-board camera views. The blue Earth just beyond the plume of the solid stage was a sight to behold.

    Trouble (that did not affect the overall launch) seems to start after the Stage III cutoff. There was a combined coast phase where the spent third stage flew with the fourth stage. When the third stage separated, it seemed to push towards the fourth stage and hit it gently.

    There seemed to be worry also when there seemed to be a temporary loss of signal from the vehicle a little after fourth stage ignition and well before satellite separation.

    It may have been because the signal switch between Indonesia and Australia or because the stage may have rolled.

    We got back to images of the Earth in the background. There was another round of celebration. More followed when the satellites separated. The indications on the screen seemed to indicate they had planned somethings that didn’t work but they skipped mentioning them until they happened.

    Payloads on-board Vikram 1 Mission Aagaman
    Dawn of a new era of private Indian rocketeers

    The image of the Sun rising over the payloads seen through the Cosmic diamond was just a goosebump-inducing experience.

    I switched off the webcast after the end of the stream with the announcement of completion of a mission. I then hung out on X asking questions and listening to answers.

    Payloads

    Grahaa Space announced that it has achieved mission objectives.

    Cosmoserve Space said that “The robotic petals which were supposed to open could not do so due to an unusual settling of the petals which might have been caused by a combination of extreme space conditions.”

    There was nothing heard about the Skyroot’s SCOPE satellite.

    There was independent confirmation of mission success by Space Force.

    Congratulations and God Speed! Skyroot Aerospace.

    The live webcast was taken down and a new trimmed video was uploaded after the Prime Minister’s mobile number leaked on the live webcast.

  • Skyroot’s Historic Launch

    I understand if you could not be a part of history in 1980.

    https://x.com/i/status/2073705836665516043

    I hope you will take the time to watch the attempt on 18 July 2026 at 11:30 am (IST). India’s launch of the first private sector-built launch vehicle from Sriharikota. Watch here.

  • Vikram 1

    Before the launch of Vikram 1, I wanted to put together what is known from various online sources about the launch vehicle and the various payloads that will fly.

    The first launch by a private launch vehicle from Indian soil is on the horizon. The latest NOTAM put out seems to point at a launch sometime after July 12 (and latest by August 4) from the First Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota. NOTAMs can change. The first mission of Vikram 1 is the Flight Test 1 or Mission Aagaman (Arrival).

    [Update [10 July 2026]: The latest NOTAM puts the launch at after July 18.]

    Vikram 1 is a four stage launch vehicle. The first three stages are solid and the fourth stage is liquid. The first three stages are powered by the Kalam 1200, Kalam 250, and Kalam 100 engines respectively. The fourth stage is called an Orbital Adjustment Module is powered by four Raman 2 engines.

    Skyroot Aerospace has been building a launch vehicle since their first test of Kalam 5 in December 2020. Their subsequent tests tested out bigger size solid motors – the Kalam 250 in March 2024. They also worked on the liquid fuelled Raman 2 engines since July 2023.

    Visit the Skyroot Aerospace YouTube channel for some wonderful videos.

    Skyroot Aerospace’s first launch was the Vikram S. Named after Dr. Vikram Sarabhai—the father of India’s space program—it successfully reached a peak altitude of 89.5 km during its historic maiden flight on November 18, 2022, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. They launched from their own launch pad.

    There have been reports in regional media about the launch as the rocket segments moved from their factory in Hyderabad to Sriharikota. The fuel that the solid stages were to be used were to be filled at ISRO Solid Propellant Plant (SPP) at Sriharikota.

    Skyroot announced the payloads on 6 July 2026.

    Dcubed (Deployables Cubed GmbH) is a German NewSpace hardware manufacturer headquartered near Munich, specializing in in-space manufacturing and deployable space technologies. They are widely known for producing high-performance micro-actuators, release nuts, launch locks, and deployable solar arrays designed to maximize payload power while minimizing launch volume. Dcubed plans to demonstrate its proprietary space hardware technologies: the uD3PP (micro Dcubed Pin Puller) and the mD3RN (micro Dcubed Release Nut).

    Grahaa Space (legally registered as zSpaze Technologies Pvt. Ltd.) is a prominent Bengaluru-based Indian spacetech startup focused on Earth observation. Founded by former ISRO scientist Dr. Loganathan Muthuswamy and ex-IBM/Dell executive Ramesh Kumar V, the company is building an advanced constellation of nano-satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) designed to stream near-real-time, high-resolution geospatial video data.

    Their first mission, Solaras S2 which flew on South Korea’s HANBIT-NANO operated by Innospace launched on December 23, 2025, from the Alcântara Space Center in Brazil due to a launch failure. This is their next mission.

    Cosmoserve Space is an emerging Indian space technology startup specialized in Active Debris Removal (ADR) and space sustainability. Founded in 2025 by former ISRO scientist Chiranjeevi Phanindra, the company is headquarted in Hyderabad. They are developing autonomous, robotic spacecraft designed to safely de-orbit dead satellites and dangerous orbital clutter.

    The founders page on the Cosmoserve website puts Skyroot’s founder Pawan Chandana as a Founding Partner. Pawan gets to play a role in both putting satellites in orbit and helping with their end of mission.

    Cosmoserve released their mission patch in a video on LinkedIn. Varun Guru posted a nice explainer on how the mission is expected to work on X.

    There is very little known about the satellite that Skyroot has built.

    Cosmos Diamonds is sending a lab grown orbit into space. Watch this video for more:

    I hope they also reveal the story behind the micro sculpture. I was able to find the website of the artist Ajay Kumar Mattewada.

    While the focus will primarily be on the launch vehicle, I had fun learning about these ‘payloads’ as well.

  • Wrote a Chapter in a Space Book

    I am happy to announce that my chapter, “The second Space Age is here. Where is India’s place in it?” has been published in India and The Second Space Age, a new e-book released by The Hindu Group.


    For decades, India’s space program operated strictly under the Sarabhai doctrine, focusing on frugal engineering and immediate socio-economic utility. Today, however, we are navigating the complex transition from a state-led monopoly into a hybrid ecosystem. The book brilliantly captures the rockets, rivalries, and unfinished rules of this frontier, exploring everything from the nuances of dual-use technologies to the legal ambiguities of cross-border liabilities in orbit.

    In my chapter, I take a look at how India is engineering its position within this new global landscape. I unpack our strategy: the deliberate shift where ISRO transitions into a high-end R&D engine, handing over mature, operational technologies to a maturing private sector. I explore the geopolitical implications of India’s decision to sign the Artemis Accords. By choosing this commercially driven, decentralized framework over the China-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), India made a strategic choice. I don’t think we signed only an Accord; we pre-qualified our private startups to plug directly into a multi-billion-dollar global supply chain.

    The e-book is available for free to digital subscribers of The Hindu Group or can be purchased on Amazon. If you are interested in the strategic intersection of deep tech, global commerce, and national policy, I highly recommend checking out the entire collection. I would love to hear your thoughts on India’s trajectory in the comments!

    Thanks to Vasudevan Mukunth for the opportunity to write. I feel great to have contributed to a work with so many great space writers and thinkers.

    I also loved the cover!

  • The PSLV-C62 Mission

    I wanted to write about this on my space newsletter but that seems to be in limbo. Hence, I am writing here.

    The launch took place on 12 January 2026 at 10:17 AM IST carrying Anvesha/EOS-N1 and multiple rideshare satellites from private space startups, academia, and international customers. The vehicle failed to reach orbit and ended in the Southern Indian Ocean.

    I did not watch the mission because I was at work. I assumed that the last failure that the PSLV faced was a minor hiccup. I assumed that the PSLV would be back to putting satellites into orbit. But, after the failure, speculation was rife on social media and in the print media with everything from sabotage to calls for sacking the ISRO Chairman.

    The above reply by @SolidBoosters2 suggesting that our intelligence agencies must be closed if this was sabotage is the best answer the people suggesting sabotage. I think the current ISRO Chairman should stay and lead the transition from solid fuel to liquid fuel launch vehicles which we are doing from PSLV, GSLV, and LVM3 to NGLV, given his experience with LPSC.

    Things started going awry to the end of the third stage flight of the PSLV-C62. People spotted the tumbling PSLV on screens in mission control before the webcast went offline. One of the next PSLV flight would have been that of the industry built PSLV.

    From some of the evidence I saw, I think the the failure seems to be originating in the attitude control system.

    One of the payloads on the PSLV was the Kestrel Initial Technology Demonstration (KID), which transmitted data for 190 seconds after separating from the PSLV at speeds over Mach 20, withstanding 28g loads and temperatures of 300 to 350 degrees Celsius. The KID maintained its payload at 85 degrees Celsius and its instruments measured accelerations of up to 30g, likely enduring up to 35g. Despite being a failed mission, they achieved 4 out of 5 technological milestones, which was a positive outcome.

    There were also a lot of questions about insurance taken by the startups in the private sector. There were calls for NSIL to pay the companies for the loss of payload. I think it was the companies responsibility to get insurance to protect against the financial loss. There are concerns that payload below certain payload weights are difficult to insure.

    The Failure Analysis Committee’s report on the failure of the PSLV-C61 are yet to be disclosed. It is expected that a similar fate awaits the FAC report for the PSLV-C62 as well. There are rumours that ISRO had changed the nozzle throat material from graphite to a 4D carbon-carbon. There are rumours that there were 7 Mission Readiness Reviews (MRRs) and even a test of the third stage of the PSLV which had also failed in the PSLV-C61 mission.

    I wish they follow the example laid down by Japan in terms of transparency. I didn’t have a useful, shareable link for the JAXA story. @SolidBoosters2 mentioned above does a good job with the story.

    I hope the issues with the PSLV can be fixed and it can return to flying missions again for ISRO very soon.

  • Bigger diameter for LMLV

    I had shared Anshuman’s post on X here in an earlier post.

    I saw a reply from Indranil Roy about why the increase in diameter from 5 m to 6.5 m is a big deal. This is because we were not able to manufacture rocket casings of the diameter in India.

    Here’s his thread on X:

    I looked up who was making rocket casings in India and found out that Walchandnagar Industries makes them. They have the capability to make 5 m diameter rocket casings according to their website.

    But, their brochure which seems to be more updated shows this capability to machine with wider diameters. So, the news about the 6.5 m diameter is a bigger deal than just an improvement in diameter. It is a deep improvement in capacity.

    Gareeb Scientist had interviewed former ISRO Chairman, Dr. S Somanath, where he also spoke about this limitation. You can find it around the 6 min 30 sec to the 7 min mark.

    There was also an episode of the NewSpace India podcast with Walchandnagar’s Chirag Doshi with insights on working with ISRO as an industrial partner right from the sounding rocket days.

  • We started off with the New Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV,). Then, there was Lunar Module Launch Vehicle. Then, NGLV was named Soorya. There is confusion about whether the NGLV and LMLV are different vehicles or the same vehicle. ISRO keeps changing nomenclature. This is the latest avatar of LMLV according to Anshuman.

    This is a version with 3 stages, 99.77 m height and 6.5 m diameter. This looks like a version they are developing of NGLV for lunar missions. Just like LVM3 and HLVM3 and hence interchangibly used.

  • Interview with M Mohanan of LPSC

    There was this interview with M Mohanan, Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Center (LPSC). As with all ISRO interviews, I don’t take their timelines very seriously but they usually point to the proper direction in terms of technology advancement.

    The interview in Malayalam was done by Asianet’s Arun Raj on the sidelines of National Space Day, held to commemorate the landing of Chandrayaan 3 near the lunar south pole on 23 August 2023. A series of programmes were held discussing the future of the various ISRO missions that I am still going through.

    There seem to be many people who were asking for a translation of this interview on X and Reddit. Hence, decided to do it here.

    I think ISRO is in an important transition from solid to liquid propellants for their launch vehicles. In this back drop, I think this is an important interview to track.

    • Interview with M Mohanan, who took over as Director, LPSC from V Narayanan, who became ISRO Chairman.
    • LPSC’s role in Chandrayaan 3 included the development of the landing motors that helped it to land successfully.
    • What after Chandrayaan 3? Chandrayaan Follow-on programme.
      • The ultimate mission is landing an Indian on the Moon by 2040, as per the Prime Minister’s vision. Work on this is in progress.
      • Chandrayaan 4 – sample return mission – landing a rover on the Moon – rover will excavate or drill a sample (rock or soil) from the lunar surface, take it back to lander, put it in a module which will take it to the orbiter and then return it to Earth.
      • Chandrayaan 5 – similar to Chandrayaan 4 but will be done in collaboration with JAXA (the Japanese space agency). Launch will be done by JAXA. New satellite propulsion systems are necessary because of the increased mass of the payload. The payload mass for this mission is approximately 6,500 kg. Indian payload masses have been close to 3,000 – 4,000 kg. We are developing the thrusters which are now in the qualification phase.
    • Semi-cryogenic engine:
      • We have developed two cryogenic engines successfully – GSLV CUS – 8 ton and LVM3 – 20 ton. SCE capability is comparitively very high. Semicryogenic engine propellant loading is 200 tons and the engine develops a thrust of 100 ton. We are developing a heavy launcher for this purpose in the future.
      • SCE is going to use liquid oxygen and pure kerosene (that we call ISROsene.
      • Engine manufacturing is complex: The temperature regimes and material used for this engine is very different. We have faced issue with qualification and manufacturing with the material used for the engine. We have overcome those issues and have started testing with the Power Head Test Article (PHTA, called the “brain” of the engine). We have successfully completed 4 tests. We are now moving to testing the engine as a whole.
      • We are first going to build the thrust chamber by the end of this year. We are going to build the stage by the end of next year. We are then going to test it in the LVM3. We will replace the L110 engine on the LVM3 with a 1-to-1 replacement. But, the engine will have comparitively higher thrust, that will let us carry a heavier payload to orbit – from the current 4 tons to 5.5 tons. That is our first aim, that we are trying to achieve by end of 2026 or early 2027.
      • Bharatiya Antariksh Station – We are planning to launch this on the LVM3 starting from 2028 and complete the commissioning of 5 modules by 2035. He seemed to imply that we will only be using LVM3 for this.
      • When we need to carry 20 ton payload to orbit or send humans to the Moon and bring them back, we need heavier launch vehicle with the capability to carry 100-120 ton to LEO. Hence, we are building NGLV as well as another launch vehicle in a modular format so that we can add an extra stage if necessary.
      • We are currently planning to use a 7 to 9 engine configuration in the first stage of the NGLV(Not sure if he meant this about the SCE or the LOX Methane engine).
      • We have got approval to develop a single 110 ton LOX Methane engine. We have started testing it since last week. Another test was held on the day of the interview. We will complete the development by the middle of next year at an engine level. Stage building will start as part of the NGLV project and is yet to begin.
      • Electric Propulsion – We are getting a PSLV built by outsourcing it to an industry consortium. The first launch mission is called PSLV-N1. PSLV-N1 will carry Technology Development Satellite (TDS-01). Ordinarily a satellite is put into a 150 x 36,000 orbit. But, this satellite will be placed in a 240 x 18,000 km orbit. The orbit raising of this satellite for circularisation of the orbit of 36,000 km will be done by electric propulsion. This has many advantages. A small thrust can be applied over a longer duration. Also, ordinarily 70-80% of the satellite mass is usually the propellant (fuel and oxidiser). With the use of electric propulsion, we can reduce the mass of the propulsion system from 3200 kg in a 4 ton satellite to a total of 100-150 kg. This includes a battery, an electric propulsion thrusters, and avionics. We have developed, qualifed, and delivered the thrusters successfully. The avionics have been qualified and will be sent for flight testing by the end of this month.
      • PSLV-N1 is scheduled for the end of this year. This mission carries a 300 mN thruster with a 4 kW power. Once this test is successful, we will increase the capacity to a 1 N thrust and 20 kW power system for an all electric propelled satellite. This requires a different battery and new technologies that will need to be developed. This will depend on the success of this mission.
      • Question on Gaganyaan since Mohanan had earlier worked with HSFC. Gaganyaan delays have been because of various reasons. Configuration and readiness of the G1 mission is completed. We plan to have 3 uncrewed missions before the crewed mission. We plan to do the first uncrewed mission, G1, by the end of this year.
      • The HLVM3 stages for the G1 mission are already in Sriharikota. The Crew Module that will help humans stay comfortably in orbit for several days and which can dock with ISS in the future is under preparation. ECLSS sytem is already done. Continued in the point below this.
      • We need to simulate the conditions of the parachute that will be used to return the crew module safely that begins 7 to 8 km over the surface of water.
        • Integrated Air Drop Test with a helicopter – For the first test we will use a helicopter with a simulated crew module and recover from the sea. This will be done this month.
        • Integrated Air Drop Test with a Test Vehicle – We will use a Test Vehicle carry an Orbital Module to a height of 15-17 km. We will drop it and control its descent with a parachute. This will be done in the next 2-3 months.
        • After we do these two tests, we will get a complete idea of landing mission sequence, parachute performance, and mission computer operation. G1 mission will be done following this.
      • Crew Module is getting assembled in URSC, Bangalore. LPSC is working on the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) of the Crew Module which will carry the crew. ECLSS will maintain a temperature of 22 degrees C and a RH of 50%, control oxygen, carbon dioxide, oxygen percentage etc. The Cabin Pressure Control System and the Thermal and Humidity Control system is delivered and its integration is in progress. The thrusters of the propulsion system on the crew module and the service module have been tested under various conditions. It’s integration is also complete.
      • Crew Module and Service Module together is Orbital Module. After the integration at UPSC it will be moved to Sriharikota and the mission will be ready to launch.
      • No place for risk. Ordinarily, we focus on quality. A loss of quality is a loss of mission. But, in this case, there is a requirement for a layer of safety over and above just the quality requirements. This has more stringent certification requirements. There is a separate board for clearance of these missions just like for aeroplanes. We are discussing and holding meetings for safety approvals for the G1 just as if it was a crewed mission to prepare for the crewed mission.
      • Instead of TV-D2 for landing tests, we are doing it as a separate project that we call Vertical Take-off and Landing Experiment. The configuration will be similar to the Test Vehicle. The important part of this vehicle will be a throttalable version of the Vikas engine. This version can reduce the thrust of the Vikas engine to 30% of its power by throttling using valves and electronics. We have completed the test of the throttalable engine. We have to build the stage with landing legs and grids (to increase the drag)so that the stage can land. We will begin work on this next year and the landing test can be done within the next 2 years. We have to work out how high it needs to go for the test. The test with this vehicle will demonstrate the technologies needed for reusability of the first stage of the NGLV.