StartupTalky

Tag: Space Technology

  • India and the US Aim to Strengthen Partnerships in AI, Semiconductors, and Space

    After Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump met at the White House, India and the US announced significant efforts aimed at promoting collaboration in emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, and civil space. The US-India TRUST program, an AI infrastructure roadmap, and the INDUS Innovation platform to promote collaborations in energy, space, and defence are among the major announcements. In the official statement, the leaders announced the launch of the U.S.-India TRUST (“Transforming the Relationship Utilising Strategic Technology”) initiative, which will encourage the use of verified technology vendors and ensure the protection of sensitive technologies while promoting government-to-government, academic, and private sector collaboration to promote the application of critical and emerging technologies in fields like defence, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing, biotechnology, energy, and space. By the end of the year, the business sectors in both nations will present a US-India Roadmap on Accelerating AI Infrastructure as part of this endeavour. With milestones and next steps, this roadmap will outline the obstacles to funding, developing, supplying, and linking extensive AI infrastructure of American provenance in India.

    Along with addressing the safeguards and controls required to protect these technologies and lower regulatory barriers, the two nations will also facilitate industry partnerships and investments in next-generation data centres, collaboration on the development and access to computing and processors for AI, innovations in AI models, and the creation of AI applications to address societal challenges.

    Launching of LNDUS Innovation

    To maintain India and US leadership in innovation and to meet 21st-century demands, the two leaders also announced the launch of INDUS Innovation, a new innovation bridge modelled after the successful INDUS-X platform. This bridge will promote investments in space, energy, and other emerging technologies and advance industry and academic partnerships. The leaders also welcomed the next summit in 2025 and reaffirmed their commitment to the INDUS-X project, which facilitates collaborations between Indian and American defence businesses, investors, and academic institutions to generate vital capabilities for our forces. According to the release, the leaders also pledged to create reliable and robust supply chains for sophisticated materials, semiconductors, vital minerals, and pharmaceuticals as part of the TRUST project. The leaders want to promote public and private investments to increase Indian manufacturing capacity for active pharmaceutical ingredients for essential medications, especially in the US, as part of this endeavour. These investments will lower the risk of shortages of life-saving medications in both India and the US, diversify essential supply chains, and generate excellent jobs.

    Unearthing the Potentials of Minerals

    India and the US will increase research and development cooperation and encourage investment throughout the critical mineral value chain, as well as through the Mineral Security Partnership, of which both countries are members, in recognition of the significance of critical minerals for cutting-edge manufacturing and emerging technologies. In addition to announcing the launch of the Strategic Mineral Recovery initiative, a new US-India program to recover and process critical minerals (such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earths) from heavy industries like aluminium, coal mining, and oil and gas, the leaders of the two nations pledged to step up efforts to deepen their understanding of various critical mineral technologies.

    In order to ensure technology security, the leaders of both the nations have decided that their governments will step up efforts to improve high-tech trade, ease export regulations, and lower obstacles to technology transfer between the two nations. According to the statement, the leaders also decided to cooperate in order to combat the shared problem of unfair export control activities by third parties looking to take advantage of the overconcentration of vital supply chains.

    OpenAI in Talks to Set Up Data Centre in India
    OpenAI is in discussions to set up a data centre in India, signaling a major expansion move to enhance AI capabilities and local infrastructure.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

  • Rohan Ganapathy, CEO & CTO of Bellatrix Aerospace, on How They’re Leading Innovations in Sustainable Space Technology

    In this exclusive interaction with StartupTalky, Rohan Ganapathy, Co-Founder, CEO, and CTO of Bellatrix Aerospace, discusses how the company is leading advancements in sustainable space technology. Bellatrix, which began with a vision to combat climate change, has grown into a pioneer in satellite propulsion and in-space mobility solutions. Ganapathy shares insights on their innovative technologies, like the water-powered Microwave Plasma Thruster, their collaboration with ISRO, and how they’re driving cost-efficient, eco-friendly innovations that are shaping the future of the satellite industry.

    StartupTalky: What inspired you to start Bellatrix Aerospace, and how has your mission evolved since then?

    Mr. Ganapathy: Bellatrix Aerospace started when we were still in college and interested in space exploration. Set out on a vision to solve climate change by developing water-based satellite propulsion to reduce the cost of transportation in space. Our mission to remain cost-efficient and sustainable has remained. Now we have evolved into In-Space Mobility solution provider for all classes of satellites and continue to develop cutting-edge technologies.

    StartupTalky: Briefly highlight Bellatrix Aerospace’s key technologies and what makes them unique.

    Mr. Ganapathy: Chemical Propulsion:

    • Green Mono-Propellent Thruster (Rudra Series): Sustainable and highly performant. We have developed fuel and catalysts in-house that are green and sustainable.
    • Nano thruster: World’s smallest thrusters, smaller than a coin. Based on nanofabrication, this thruster is designed to be compatible for CubeSats up to 12 U. Volume and power efficiency.

    Electric Propulsion:

    • Hall Effect Thruster (Arka Series): Based on Hall effect technology, the Arka series can be compatible with satellites from 50kg class to 5000 kg. To avoid a single-point failure due to heating issues in the cathode, we have developed a heater-less hollow cathode-based hall effect thruster.
    • Microwave Plasma Thruster (Jal Series): The world’s first thruster with water as a fuel,  designed for 1000Kg+ class satellites and reduces cost for the satellite owner significantly due to water used as the fuel.

    StartupTalky: How has your partnership with ISRO impacted Bellatrix’s technological advancements and growth? 

    Mr. Ganapathy: Bellatrix was the first space tech to be awarded a developmental contract by the ISRO to develop an electric propulsion system that uses water as fuel. This collaboration highlighted the startup’s credibility and the promise of its technology. By teaming up with ISRO, Bellatrix accessed crucial resources,  knowledge, and infrastructure, which sped up their research and development.

    India Launches the Earth Observation Satellite EOS-08
    EOS-08,′ the newest Earth observation satellite from ISRO, was launched today from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, using the SSLV-D3.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

    StartupTalky: What steps is Bellatrix taking to contribute to sustainable space technology, and what are your future goals in this area?

    Mr. Ganapathy: In chemical propulsion, hydrazine fuel used traditionally is considered extremely toxic requires a specialized condition to handle and it’s unsustainable, we have developed our in-house green fuel to replace hydrazine and deliver better performance. We are doubling down on this technology to develop components to cater to varied demands in the market.

    StartupTalky: How does your Satellite as a Service (SaaS) solution address current challenges in the satellite industry? 

    Mr. Ganapathy: A satellite needs to travel from the deployed orbit to its desired orbit to start its operations, it’s like the last mile connectivity. Without the Satellite as a Service solution, the satellite needs to take additional fuel to do the last mile operations, which increases the overall mass and size of the satellite, thereby significant additional costs for the satellite owner/operator and adding complexity to the mission operations.

    With the Satellite as a Service solution, the satellites are onboarded in the orbital transfer vehicle, which transfers them to the desired orbit, saving the cost for the satellite operator. Additionally, the vehicle could act as a satellite body and host payloads of the customer and run demonstration operations or short-term operations required, thereby saving a huge amount of cost and time for the operator.

    Mr. Ganapathy: Key trends shaping the future of space exploration and satellite technology are:

    • In-Space Mobility Solutions: With the rapid growth of satellites, there are crucial gaps in the market for in-space mobility. So, technological advancements in satellite propulsion systems that are greener, more efficient, deliver high performance, reliable, cost-effective, and with low lead times are shaping satellite technology and its outcomes.
    • In-Space Manufacturing: At a global level, there are startups innovating to leverage the space conditions for manufacturing specific materials that can benefit our planet. Manufacturing the same materials by replicating the space conditions here on Earth is very challenging and has significant overhead and operational costs compared to doing it in space.
    • Space Situation Awareness: Monitoring the ever-growing volume of satellites in space to avoid collisions and to protect the satellites from space debris is of key importance for sustainable space operations.

    StartupTalky: How does Bellatrix’s large propulsion test facility benefit your R&D and product innovation efforts? 

    Mr. Ganapathy: Space conditions are harsh, and once a satellite is in space, from Earth we have very limited control to rectify a problem or issue. So, the solution requires extremely stringent quality testing before it’s sent to space. So, a large test facility helps in fast iterations by replicating space conditions for testing, which significantly benefits R&D and product innovation.

    StartupTalky: How has the funding from prominent investors helped advance Bellatrix’s technology and operations?

    Mr. Ganapathy: The funding has enabled us to iterate fast by acquiring the necessary tools to set up lab and testing facilities; thereby, we were able to innovate and develop four product lines to cover all satellite classes and space-qualified technologies. Prominent investors’ confidence also helps in improving our trust and reliability in the market.

    StartupTalky: What are the goals in line for Bellatrix and how do you plan to continue driving innovation in space technology?

    Mr. Ganapathy: We have four propulsion product lines and satellite as a service product. We have space-qualified two of our product lines. Our short-term goal is to space-qualify all our propulsion and satellite-as-a-service product lines by next year. And, we are working on a few customer orders, expanding our operations to the US  and EU soon to penetrate deep into the market. 

    We have solutions for all classes of satellites, and our long-term goal is to become a trustworthy and reliable player for in-space mobility solutions among both government and commercial customers at a global level. We are working on a few other areas and planning to announce them once we have passed a certain qualification stage.

    Top 5 Best Space Companies In The World
    Space tech is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. Many companies have reached the top. Here’s a look at top space tech companies.
    StartupTalkyYash Gupta