Three companies chosen for IN-SPACe SBaaS initiative

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) announced its Satellite Bus as a Service (SBaaS) initiative through an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) in April 2025. The AO invited proposals from Indian non-governmental entities (NGEs) to develop indigenous small satellite bus platforms for hosted payload services.

A total of 15 proposals were received by July 2025. Following a multi-stage evaluation process, three companies were selected: Astrome Technologies, Bengaluru; Azista Industries, Hyderabad; and Dhruva Space, Hyderabad.

Each company will receive a grant of Rs 5 crore to support the development and demonstration of a modular and scalable small satellite bus platform. These platforms are intended to serve as cost-effective solutions capable of accommodating multiple hosted payloads for domestic and international markets. IN-SPACe signed contract agreements with the selected companies on 11 February 2026, formally commencing implementation of the scheme.

Dr Pawan Goenka, Chairman of IN-SPACe, said the initiative is aimed at strengthening India’s small satellite manufacturing ecosystem by supporting the development of indigenous satellite bus platforms and linking them with emerging small satellite launch capabilities.

Rajeev Jyoti, Director, Technical Directorate, IN-SPACe, said the initiative is expected to support the development and manufacture of standardised, flight-proven satellite bus platforms for hosted payload missions. He added that this could help lower entry barriers for payload developers and strengthen domestic manufacturing capacity.

Under the AO guidelines, IN-SPACe will provide milestone-based grant disbursements and facilitate access to ISRO/Department of Space and IN-SPACe infrastructure, testing facilities and technical expertise, where required. In subsequent phases, the agency plans to enable hosted payload missions on the developed platforms, expanding public–private partnership-led programmes that support industry participation from platform development through to operational missions.

The announcement forms part of IN-SPACe’s broader efforts to build private sector capabilities in satellite platforms and hosted payload services. Recently, IN-SPACe signed a concession agreement with PixxelSpace India and Allied Orbits (a special purpose vehicle formed by a Pixxel-led consortium) to establish an Earth observation constellation under a public–private partnership framework. The initiative is intended to support the development of indigenous Earth observation capabilities and strengthen the commercial ecosystem in this segment.vo