The Pushpak is an in-space transportation spacecraft designed as a shared platform for smaller satellites, to ferry them to multiple orbits. Think of it as UberPool or last mile delivery, for small satellites.
The first launch with Pushpak integrated into an Isro rocket is expected to be in early 2026, with the company saying that it has already onboarded two customers, with talks ongoing with others.
Currently, in the case of multiple satellite launches, the rocket trajectory is optimised for the biggest payload. This means that smaller nano and microsatellites which share the same launch vehicle will have to burn valuable fuel to move around to position itself into its correct orbit, after being ejected.
The Pushpak, which has slots to house smaller individual satellites, will take care of the task of ejecting payload at more optimised locations, once it is pushed out into low earth orbit (LEO) by the launch vehicle.
“Generally, the majority of the fuel onboard a satellite would be used for orbit raising. By riding on Pushpak, this can be used to extend mission life and perform multiple other on-orbit operations,” said Yashas Karanam, COO and cofounder of Bellatrix. This, the propulsion-tech company says, will help customers who are creating satellite constellations cut down costs while manoeuvring individual satellites to their orbit, which in turn should help them start deploying it faster. Bellatrix claims that the cost of launching a satellite on a dedicated launch for micro and nano satellite fleets, which is around $45,000/kg, can come down to $25,000/kg to a low earth orbit if launched aboard Pushpak.
It can also enable multi-orbit deployment sequences, inclination change, GEO transfer missions and future deep space missions.
D Radhakrishnan, CMD of NSIL said, “We are happy to support Bellatrix Aerospace in launching their OTV module to enhance launch options for rideshare customers.”
Bellatrix refused to reveal whether they are jointly marketing this with NSIL as that is part of a non-disclosure agreement with the government’s space marketing company.
According to startup data tracker Tracxn, Bellatrix has raised a total funding of $11.3 million over three rounds. Its first funding round was on 16 February 2019. Its latest funding round was a Series A round on June 1, 2022 for $8 million. Around 14 investors participated in its latest round, led by BASF Venture Capital, Inflexor.
Its competitors globally would include Impulse Space which raised $150 million last week, D-Orbit which raised $166 million last week, and Exotrail which had deployed a satellite from its first OTV earlier this year.
With global players like SpaceX, along with Isro, lowering cost of access to space, the satellite launch industry has been witnessing its best years. According to the Satellite Industry Association, “A total of 2,781 commercial satellites were deployed during 2023, an increase of 20 percent compared to the previous year, while the space industry once again conducted the most launches (190) in history. By the end of 2023, a total of 9,691 active satellites circled the earth, an increase of 361 percent over the past five years.”
Most of the nano and micro satellite constellations that are sent up are used for communications and for imaging.