XDLINX Space Labs, an Indian space technology start-up that develops nano and micro satellites with hosted payload options for customers, has announced the launch of five more satellites by 2025. The company launched its first satellite for a customer in February 2023 from an ISRO facility.

“The demand for multi-functional satellites, which means multiple payloads in one satellite, is growing fast from all over the world. These are modular satellites that are affordable for space missions in short spans of time compared with the traditional route,” Rupesh Gandupalli, co-founder and CEO of XDLINX Space Lab, said in an interview.

“This year we are scheduled to launch two satellites which are ready and three more next year. A total of five satellites will be launched by 2025,” he said. These satellites are in the configuration of 10kg to 150 kg. The company has developed five satellite platforms which will host different payloads for customers.

With affordability and ready-made modular standardised solutions being made available, many countries in Asia and Africa, which had stayed away from space explorations, have now lined up to launch their own space missions. The development time-frame had been brought down from the traditional 36-40 months to 12 to 18 months and the cost had been reduced by over 60%.

“The countries we are focussing on are Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Kenya, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates to name a few,” he said. To tap into the fastest growing U.S. market, which is the biggest for space missions, the company has announced to start its U.S. operations this year.

It had also decided to expand its development centre in Hyderabad from 12,000 sq.ft to 60,000 sq. ft to cater to growing demand. “We are acquiring 4 acres of land and making it a 60,000 sq.ft facility. This place will be users for developing newer payloads and new generation communication systems,” he said.

The company is gearing up to launch a communication satellite that will offer connectivity in E-Band a new band as the generally available K-Band has become crowded.

This E-Band is the same technology that Elon Musk is also betting on as the next generation communication system for his Starlink programme. “We are majorly focusing on this new technology which is a new revolution. It is called as E-Band. It has the highest frequency beyond K-Band. As all communications are currently done in K-Band, it has become extremely crowded,” he said.

“We developed E-Band for one of your clients who owns a huge spectrum of E Band in the entire of Africa and most of Europe. We developed the first E-Band miniature payload platform which will be launched in our T2 platform in October 2024. The satellite is ready in my office,” he added. “It will be the first-of-its-kind E-Band-based communication satellite,” he further said.

The E-Band, with its higher frequency range, offers a greater bandwidth, enabling unprecedented data transfer speeds and enhanced communication performance from space to earth, the company said. One of the most striking features of the E-Band spectrum is its potential to achieve data transfer speeds that were previously unthinkable. Currently, the maximum data transfer speed stands at 1 Gbps per second. However, with the implementation of E-Band technology from space, this speed is expected to see a tenfold increase, reaching an astounding 10 Gbps per second.

This leap in speed will set a new milestone in this area of wireless communications, facilitating faster and more efficient transmission of data across the globe, the company added.

XDLINX Space Labs had raised $7 million in seed funding. “Some part of the funds will be used as working capital for the various contracts that we have closed and which are in different stages of development. We will deploy 30 percent in developing technology and next generation payloads,” the CEO said.

“Standardisation is bringing down the sizes of the satellites and one can actually host multiple payloads in one satellite, bringing down the cost substantially,” he said.

“The hosted payload driven satellites are actually opening up the new markets. We are fulfilling the needs of the defence, agricultural monitoring and climate change detection through these missions,” he added.

Agencies