Downlink, Uplink by Dhruva Space | Aug - Oct 2024

Ciao, Milano!

Team Dhruva Space had a truly memorable experience at IAC2024 Milan, Italy! As proud exhibitors as part of ISRO - Indian Space Research Organisation’s pavilion, Team Dhruva Space found themselves at the heart of this vibrant event. Here are some key highlights from our time there:

🛰️ We revealed our sponsored hosted payload initiative, wherein at least 1U of payload volume could be sponsored by Dhruva Space in each Launching Expedition for Aspiring Payloads (LEAP) mission – complete with technical assistance, long-term partnership opportunities, and funding for innovators, aligning with the Government of India’s Performance-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Space and semiconductors.

🚀 We also deepened our partnership with Skyroot Aerospace, aiming to integrate their Vikram series of launch vehicles with our P-30 satellite platform, creating a comprehensive solution for satellite design and launch services. This collaboration addresses the growing demand for commercial Space missions and In-Orbit Demonstrations (IOD). 

🌏 To round off the excitement, our team had the privilege of engaging with numerous international Space agencies – ISRO, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, Kenya Space Agency , European Space Agency - ESA , and Centre National d'Études Spatiales – as well as various industry leaders, fostering valuable connections and collaborations to enable ease of access to Space.

India goes to France…

Dhruva Space's participation in Novaspace Summits (Merger of Euroconsult and SpaceTec Partners)'s World Space Business Week 2024 in Paris, France, was elevated by the company's sponsorship of this esteemed trade show, which attracted more than 1,000 CXOs from the global Space industry.

WSBW 2024 included a panel, ‘Factory Fresh: SmallSats off the Line’, and offered Dhruva Space a platform to discuss the future of manufacturing in India. Sanjay Nekkanti’s views from this panel were featured in SpaceNews.

We’re happy to share that Dhruva Space also designed and produced custom khadi cotton bags in our signature Deep Space blue colour for the event, which were quite a hit with WSBW 2024’s 1,100-plus attendees.

… and France comes to India!

This World Space Week India, Team Dhruva Space had the distinct honour of hosting the GIFAS Space Delegation at our Hyderabad HQ. The delegation, made up of leaders from some of the aerospace industry’s most influential companies, including ArianeGroup, CetraC.io, CT Ingenierie, Dassault Aviation, Gekatex Group, Hexcel Corporation, Nicomatic, RIDE! space, Safran, Sereme, SOCOMORE, Starburst, and Thales Alenia Space, spent a day exploring our state-of-the-art facilities.

We were especially delighted to welcome Mr. Herve DERREY, CEO of Thales Alenia Space, and Mr. Martin Sion, CEO of ArianeGroup, who officially inaugurated our new, cutting-edge satellite integration cleanroom. This facility will play a key role in expanding Dhruva Space’s capacity to produce Space-grade solar arrays and support the assembly, integration, and testing of larger spacecraft, including our P-Nu microsatellite. 

The new Class-10,000 cleanroom will significantly enhance our ability to meet the growing demand for satellite solutions, marking an important milestone as we progress with the construction of our 280,000 sq-ft spacecraft manufacturing facility—a major leap in Dhruva Space’s growth journey.

A LEAP towards Australia! 

With our first hosted payload mission LEAP-1 securing an Australian customer, Australia has emerged as a key market for Dhruva Space. IN-SPACe led a delegation of Indian Space firms at the 17th Australian Space Forum in Adelaide.

Avinash Maramraju , Additional Director - Business Development & Sales, represented Dhruva at this event which generated interest in our P-30 satellite bus for both hosted and dedicated customer missions, resulting in numerous meetings with prominent Australian Space leaders, including Mr. Enrico Palermo, Head of the Australian Space Agency.

Learn more about Dhruva Space's P-30 satellite platform here:

The Satellite Connectivity Revolution

The 2024 edition of Asia-Pacific Satellite Communication Conference (APSCC) in Bangkok, Thailand, saw Keyur Gandhi, Director - Space Regulatory & Commercialisation, participate in a panel discussion ‘The India Satcom Market: What to Expect from Indian Satcom Regulatory Changes’. 

The panel discussed the nature of Regulatory & Policy challenges which require to be solved to poise India for the Satellite Connectivity Revolution in light of the rapidly evolving market landscape.

Find your ‘Spark’!

At the Bengaluru leg of YourStory Media’s annual thought leadership show TechSparks, Sanjay Nekkanti participated in a fireside chat with editor Payal Ganguly on the Indian Space Programme. The chat delved into growing investments into the Space sector, the potential of India’s future missions, and international collaboration for co-innovation.

This discussion was on the heels of a rivetting and inspiring keynote by Shri Somanath S, Chairman, ISRO, elaborating on the story of India’s Space programme, and further building anticipation for the exciting endeavours ahead including human spaceflight mission Gaganyaan.

A sojourn with BSX 2024

The 2024 edition of the Bengaluru Space Expo (BSX) was a significant milestone, and Dhruva Space was proud to contribute as a Silver Sponsor. This year’s event saw more than 2,000 participants from diverse sectors, including Government, Industry, Scientific Research, and Academia.

Our Engineering and Business Development teams were out in full force, engaging with industry leaders, forging new connections, and sharing insights with experts from across the Space ecosystem.

Special Recognitions

‘Best Space Tech Startup of the Year’ by Entrepreneur India 

For the second time, Dhruva Space has been named Entrepreneur India's ‘SpaceTech Startup of the Year’! 

Abhay Egoor, CTO & Co-founder, accepted the award on behalf of the company at the Entrepreneur India Summit 2024 in New Delhi, and also participated in a panel discussion ‘To Infinity and Beyond! The Future of Space Tech’.

‘Founder of the Year’ at Startup Story Entrepreneur Awards 2024!

In a celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit, Dhruva Space’s CEO & Co-founder Sanjay Nekkanti was recognised as ‘Founder of the Year’ by business publication Startup Story®. 

This recognition extends to the leadership that has helped paved the way for much of Dhruva Space’s ongoing success! 

‘Best Glocal Startup of the Year’ at India Mobile Congress 2024 

At this year’s India Mobile Congress, Dhruva Space was awarded ‘Best Glocal Startup of the Year’! Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, the Hon'ble Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications, Government of India, presented this award to Dhruva Space, represented by our Co-founder Chaitanya Dora.

Being honoured at India Mobile Congress, an annual conference organised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Cellular Operators Association of India - COAI, highlights our role in meeting the increasing demand for satellite solutions that address both local and global challenges.

ISpA Space Industry Award 2024 for ‘International Collaboration and Market Expansion’ 

We are excited and grateful to be recognised with an ISpA- Indian Space Association Space Industry Award 2024 for Dhruva Space's work in ‘International Collaboration and Market Expansion’.

Over the years, as a full-stack Space company, we have nurtured a groundswell of global partnerships to further the ease of access of Space. Our notable partnerships among many include those with France-based Kinéis and Comat, and SSC - Swedish Space Corporation.

Life at Dhruva Space

Behind the scenes...

Here's a sneak peek into the inner workings of the cross-functional Assembly, Integration & Testing (AIT) team. These passionate engineers factor in various parameters from mechanical strength to electronic precision to deliver products that stand the test of time – and Space!

Join our crew

At Dhruva Space, there is room for all talents. If you think you will be a good fit for our crew, check out our current vacancies at our Jobs tab on our LinkedIn page:

• Hardware Engineer 

• Senior Technical Lead - Firmware 

• Associate Firmware Engineer

• FPGA Engineer

• Creatives Marketing Associate 

• Office Administrator

• Ground Station Operation Engineer III

Don’t see a position (full-time or internship) that’s a fit for you? Send us an email with a cover letter and your latest CV to [email protected].

Share our space

That’s it for now, but there’s so much more ahead! Share this newsletter with your network so that they can keep up with what is going on at Dhruva Space and across India’s private Space-tech sector.

Feel free to send over some feedback by emailing [email protected]!

Thank you for reading!

-- Divya-Kala Bhavani, Director - PR, Comms & Marketing, Dhruva Space