Indo-German JV launches its first satellite on SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket

Azista BST Aerospace, an Indo-German manufacturing joint venture, on Tuesday launched its first satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that lifted off from Florida, US.

Azista BST aims to mass manufacture satellites in India for the global market, aiming to produce two per week at a 50,000-square-foot facility in Ahmedabad. The company’s first satellite, ABA First Runner (AFR), weighs 80 kg and was built on a modular bus platform and hosts a wide-swath optical remote sensing payload. AFR is the first satellite of its size and performance built by the private space industry in India. It is capable of supporting various critical applications for civilian and defence purposes, said Azista BST.

 

"The launch of AFR marks an exciting beginning to support the realization of satellite constellations for various applications. Our factory in Ahmedabad is already geared up to produce 10 of these satellites in 2024. We are grateful for the support from the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), the Indian National Space Authorization Center (IN-SPACe), and the Indian Space Association (ISpA) to help us achieve this major milestone," said Srinivas Reddy Male, managing director of Azista BST Aerospace.

India’s Azista Industries holds a 70 per cent stake in Azista BST Aerospace and Berlin Space Technologies GmbH owns the remaining 30 per cent.

“This accomplishment not only showcases India's unwavering dedication to the vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat, but also marks a significant landmark for the Indian space industry in terms of streamlined production of satellites, great precision on supply chain management and timelines. This is also a big milestone for the Indian space startup ecosystem as it takes our private industry into the next leap of international collaborations,” said A K Bhatt, director general of Indian Space Association (ISpA).

Azista BST said it will launch several within the next 12-24 months and strengthen production capabilities in India.

"Azista BST Aerospace invites researchers and organizations interested in exploring the use of fresh satellite data for various geospatial applications to get in touch with us and take advantage of this exciting opportunity," said Sunil Indurti, director of the company.