Pixxel, India’s first private Earth imaging company, has announced their agreement with Leaf Space, a company delivering complete ground segment expertise for smallsats.
The announcement was made at the 70th International Astronautical Congress in Washington DC, wherein Leaf Space will provide the ground segment support for the satellite to be launched in July of 2020.
Through this partnership, Leaf Space will provide the support service up to one pass per orbit to the satellite in SSO (Sun-Synchronous Orbit), demonstrating the capabilities of its mid-latitude, distributed, ground station network. Uplink and downlink service for the mission will be provided using VHF, UHF and S-band frequencies. The satellite is set to be launched on a Soyuz rocket in July 2020, thanks to a contract inked in August this year.
The agreement also facilitates future mission support for Pixxel’s planned constellation thanks to the integration of the communication systems and interfaces, nonetheless, familiarizing the satellite operations team with Leaf Space services.
Pixxel is aiming to build a constellation of Earth imaging small satellites that will provide global coverage every 24 hours once fully deployed. The satellites will collect data that will be accurately analyzed using artificial intelligence in order to predict effective solutions for existing environmental problems.
Commenting on the agreement, Awais Ahmed, CEO, Pixxel said the company is excited to partner with Leaf Space for the ground segment support to the firm’s first satellite. Pixxel strongly believes that this combined expertise will result in smooth and timely delivery of highly accurate geospatial imagery to people all across the globe. This partnership will be marked as the first milestone in India’s space technology progression.
Jonata Puglia, CEO of Leaf Space, said the firm is eager to start supporting Pixxel’s ambitious remote sensing mission, as this program has the potential to generate valuable data for the new space market. The company is looking forward to delivering this service to the firm’s customer, laying out the most favorable environment for future mission and constellation support.