Tag: Kerala

  • 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.

  • Pune to Palakkad – 27 August 2025

    We drove down from Pune to Palakkad for Onam. The route we took was Kolhapur – Chitradurga – Tumkur – Sathyamangalam – Coimbatore – Palakkad.

    My main concern before the start of the journey was repair work on the Pune – Bangalore Highway (old NH4, new AH47 or NH48). Multiple people warned me about it. So, we were actively considering the Solapur – Vijayapura – Chitradurga stretch to avoid the repairs on the Kolhapur stretch.

    Two days before the drive, Rakesh had consulted multiple people himself and suggested that we take the Kolhapur, as a known bad road was better than an unknown road. I was concerned by the lack of mobile connectivity in case of any issues with our vehicle. Google Maps showed instances of roads being drowned in one or two stretches of the Solapur alternative.

    Colleagues at work I asked said that the stretch towards Bangalore was good but had no food stops nor mobile phone coverage for nearly an hour and a half as the roads went through wildlife sanctuaries.

    Following Rakesh’s advice we chose the Kolhapur alternative. 

    It was Ganesh Chaturthi that day and we started off with some Ganesh aartis. We had mentally prepared for multiple road blocks which appeared on Google Maps but did not exist on the road. Multiple times in Maharashtra, Google Aunty would ask us to take a diversion where none existed and seemed flummoxed when the car went straight ahead.

    The diversions on the Maharashtra stretch were much better built. There were potholes in some places but that was expected given the incessant rains in the past two to three weeks.

    Google Aunty did much better with the diversions on the Karnataka stretch of NH4. Here, the roads were much worse than the Maharashtra stretch with unnecessary speed bumpers, non tarred roads, and numerous potholes. 

    We made our first stop at the Kamat’s in Satara just before going up the ghats. The meals were good. We carried some snacks from here for what we expected to be a bad Kolhapur stretch.

    The Kolhapur stretch wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be. We went through but at slower speeds. 

    We crossed the border into Karnataka and stopped at a McDonalds (called Viraj Junction) just past the RTO check post for bathroom breaks and some coffee. 

    There are not too many food places on this stretch upto Chitradurga. So, we stopped at a familiar place for lunch when we saw it. It just says Restaurant but Google calls it Itagi Cross.

    We met a foreigner here who was going the other way on his Honda Goldwing. My 2 yo son waved hi to him. He waved back and asked him how he was. My 2 yo said, I’m fine. We had rice and dal here and it was really good.

    We had planned to reach Tumkur by evening that day but the Dharwad- Hubli stretch had other plans. This stretch was the worst stretch on our way to Palakkad. But, I’m happy they are expanding it now. When we reached Chitradurga, it was half past five. We stopped for tea and decided to push to Tumkur.

    We called ahead and booked Hotel Sadananda. We then had the first spell of rain on the road. This slowed us down a little. We then stopped for the night at Hotel Sadananda and had dinner from there. We had a simple meal at the hotel which was fine but not great.

    We had a hot water bath and had a good night’s sleep. We decided to leave around six the next night.

  • Space going back to Kerala?

    While listening to Mission ISRO, I realized how the focus of space activities changed from Thumba to Bengaluru in the 1970s when Prof. Satish Dhawan became ISRO Chairman after the death of Vikram Sarabhai, the father of the Indian space program.

    In today’s episode, it was discussed how people in Kerala opposed the move to build Aryabhata, India’s first satellite to Bengaluru. Surendra Pal in his reconstruction says that people blockaded the movement of equipment from Thumba. It seems scientists carried some tools and books as personal luggage from Thumba to Bengaluru.

    In Thiruvananthapuram, a space park was started in 2019. Many space companies have moved there. When listening to this episode today, I wondered if this is a return back to the 1960s.

    While I do not want to indulge in counterfactual of what would have happened if the space program had stayed in Kerala, I think the creation of the space park is another opportunity to unlock that potential.

    Kerala has lost several investment opportunities. It has lost so because of perceived unionism and the political troubles many industries have faced. But, given the slow loss of a remittance economy, there is a slow return of small and medium enterprises in the state. Unfortunately, the state has slowly lost land with no space for large industries.

    The Space Park idea is a great place for space companies to register and operate from. Will it be inviting enough to get companies to move from Bengaluru to Kerala Space Park?

  • Quick Long Update

    I returned from Kerala on the 17th. And there has been no blog posts since then. So, that needs some explanation.

    Stuff that I did –

    • Changed the theme to Unsleepable by Ben Gray
    • Read all the emails
    • Read all the blog posts
    • Updated Orkut and Facebook. Still catching up on that front.
    • Trying to get back into SEDSAT2

    So, in between all that, I didn’t have time to update my blog. Sorry. Had tons to write about. Forgot all of it. Sorry :(.

  • Somewhere in Kerala

    post dated post.

    I am in Kerala till 17th June 2007.