Space startup InspeCity is soon going to develop a compact Micropropulsion system to help in precise manoeuvring and orbit correction. And for this purpose the company will develop a gas-based system. Once this technology has been developed it can then be integrated with other satellites, and this includes the cubesat swarm which are in the process of being developed under Mission DefSpace.
On Monday, according to an official statement issued by the Ministry of Defence the first iDEX contract of Mission DefSpace was exchanged between Additional Secretary (Defence Production) & CEO Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) T Natarajan and CEO, InspeCity Arindrajit Chowdhary. The startup had earlier won a challenge led by the Defence Space Agency related to ‘Micropropulsion system for cubesats’.
About Cubesats
These are a class of small satellites and are easy to manufacture, modular, modular, low cost, integrate and launch. These cubesats are critical for launch-on-demand capabilities and are good for Imagery, Reconnaissance/communication, and also Intelligence Surveillance. Therefore, for these reasons there is a requirement for cubesats to be aligned precisely and there is also a requirement of a compact micro-propulsion system which helps to manoeuvre precisely and in orbit correction.
Space Domain
Recognising the strategic significance of the space domain, last year in October on the sidelines of the DefExpo, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched Mission DefSpace as part of 75 Defence Space Challenges which will be addressed by the private sector.
100th SPRINT (Navy) contract
Siliconia Technologies Pvt Ltd will provide multiple independent receiver/transmitter sources that are essential in phased-array radars, typically used in satellite tracking. The startup led by Sushil Eknath Ghule is the winner of the Challenge which was about development of a prototype that is a lightweight Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) based communication system. This uses software defined antennas for Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit and Geostationary satellite communication.
This was the 100th SPRINT (Navy) contract was inked in New Delhi. Both these contracts were signed in the presence of Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane and other senior military and civil officials.
According to the MoD statement, the defence secretary Aramane said that the iDEX will help make India the biggest defence innovation ecosystem in the future.