SpaceX Delays Launch of India’s First Private Satellite

India’s satellite will be among the 70 that are being launched by SpaceX as part of its ride-share mission SSO-A.

Image used for representation.

(Photo Courtesy: Exseedspace official website)

California-based SpaceX has announced its decision to delay the launch of its ride-share mission, where India’s first homegrown satellite built by a Mumbai-based private startup, is part of the 70-odd satellites from 16 countries, that were to be launched as a sun-synchronous polar orbit.

The launch, which was initially expected to take place around 12.02 am (India Time) on Tuesday, 20 November, was delayed as the company wished to conduct additional pre-flight inspections.

The mission by the Elon Musk-owned SpaceX, which is being termed the SSO-A, will be the company’s largest mission in terms of the number of satellites launched, The New Indian Express reported. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) currently holds the record for launching 103 satellites in a single mission.

The satellite from India – ExceedSAT 1 – is the brainchild of a Mumbai-based startup named Exseedspace, and looks to serve the ham or the amateur radio community, the report added.

The only startup to have space pedigree, Exseedspace, will become the first Indian company to send a satellite to space, once SpaceX launches the satellites around 12.02 am on Tuesday, 20 November, the Deccan Herald reported.

Exseedspace founders, Kris Nair and Ashhar Farhan, said the goal for building the satellite is “democratising space exploration for commercial, government and academic customers” and “help them leverage the advances in space technology to achieve business and community goals,” the Deccan Herald report added.

The satellite will be on a polar orbit for five years after the launch launch and will perform about 5-6 passes over India every day, the founders told The New Indian Express. This, they said, will allow the public to receive signals on 145.90 Mhz frequency, with the help of a TV tuner and a USB dongle.

The SpaceX mission will launch 70 spacecraft from 50 different organisations, including 15 microsats and 56 cubesats, that will rank it as the single largest ride-share mission from a US-based launch vehicle, the report added.

It includes payloads from 18 countries: India, United States, Australia, Italy, Netherlands, Finland, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, UK, Germany, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Poland, Canada, South Africa, and Brazil.

(With inputs from The New Indian Express and Deccan Herald)