The Indian Air Force (IAF) plans to launch satellites from space start-up Pixxel by mid-2025. This will help the IAF monitor the country’s borders and beyond. The IAF has signed a contract with Bengaluru-based Pixxel Space, founded by Awais Ahmed and Kshitij Khandelwal of BITS Pilani.
Ahmed said, “We aim to have the satellite up in space by mid-2025.” Pixxel will build the satellite and hand it over to the IAF, which will operate it. The satellite will be used for border surveillance and other security purposes.
Pixxel has a contract under the Ministry of Defence’s iDEX initiative to supply miniaturized multi-payload satellites. This project will help Pixxel develop small satellites for various purposes, including Electro-Optical, Infrared, and Synthetic Aperture Radar.
Since 2019, Pixxel has raised $71 million, which will fund the launch of its 24 satellites—six this year and 18 next year. Ahmed said the revenue from these satellites will support the company in the future. Pixxel also plans to explore the cis-lunar space (the area between Earth and the Moon) to study asteroids for minerals and other resources that could be used for space settlements.
