Desi startups successfully perform space tests on payloads attached to last rocket stage

NEW DELHI: In a boost to space experiments by desi firms, Indian space startups

Dhruva Space

and

Bellatrix Aerospace

have successfully tested their P30 satellite platform and high performance green propulsion systems, respectively, on board the last stage of the

PSLV-C58 rocket

, which doubled up as an experimental platform, also called PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM), in space.

The PSLV-C58 rocket’s fourth stage was activated in space after the rocket, launched on January 1 from Sriharikota, completed its primary mission of launching main satellite

X-ray Polarimeter Satellite

(

XPoSAT

) into its desired orbit.
Hyderabad-based Dhruva Space, in a statement, said the successful testing of 'Launching Expeditions for Aspiring Payloads — Technology Demonstrator' (LEAP-TD) will help it embark on its satellite mission. The startup has validated the P-30 platform and its various subsystems in-orbit and the results have been confirmed by reception of telemetry and beacon data at the ground station of the Thiruvananthapuram-based Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), it said.
The qualification of the LEAP-TD has now paved the way for hosted payload solutions for space missions, that allows persons other than the satellite's primary operator to own a portion of the spacecraft such as a sensor, an instrument or a set of transponders.
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) also announced the successful testing of India's first high performance green propulsion system for small satellites developed by Bellatrix Aerospace, which was supported by the technology development fund of the research organisation. “The developed technology is environmentally safe, reducing cost of satellites and will be key technology boosting Indian space capabilities,” DRDO said on X.

The orbital platform of an Isro rocket allows startups, students and institutes to carry out in-orbit tests of their payloads in space. The experimental platform is hosted on the stage four of the

PSLV rocket

, which earlier used to remain in orbit for some time before crashing into the sea, after placing the primary satellite in its desired orbit.