Azista BST Aerospace Pvt. Ltd. (ABA) has launched its first satellite, ABA First Runner (AFR), aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on June 13th, 2023, as part of the Transporter 8 Mission. AFR is an 80kg satellite built on a modular bus platform and has the capability to host a wide-swath optical remote sensing payload with both panchromatic and multispectral imaging capabilities.
The satellite lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, as part of Musk’s SpaceX rideshare project. There were 72 spacecraft—including CubeSats, MicroSats, orbital transfer vehicles and a re-entry capsule on the rocket besides India’s AFR. AFR is meant to be a technology demonstrator and will provide imaging services.
Managing Director Srinivas Reddy Male said, “The deployment of the ABA First runner imaging Satellite is the product of a lengthy four-year effort and this launch is just the first of many ambitious projects our firm aims to complete.”
Azista BST Aerospace is a joint venture between India and Germany, where Azista Industries Pvt. Ltd. (India) owns 70% and the rest of 30% is owned by Berlin Space Technologies GmBH (Germany).
Lt Gen AK Bhatt (Retd), Director-General, Indian Space Association (ISpA), said, “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.”
“The satellite launched today will enable a variety of critical applications for civilian and defence purposes. 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. At ISpA, we take great pride in having Azista-BST as an esteemed member of our association, contributing to the advancement of the growing space industry in India,” he added.
Purpose of AFR satellite
Brig. Adarsh Bharadwaj, Executive Director, ABA said to Geospatial World, “This is the only satellite of this configuration to be indigenously built and operated by a private entity in India other than ISRO. This satellite is a capability demonstrator satellite which is meant to provide solutions in agriculture, forestry, water management, mining, maritime and defence applications, to any country who wants to utilise the data. Soon we will soon be launching data configuration satellites in remote sensing.”
The satellite is built on the state-of-the-art LEOS-50 modular small satellite platform and demonstrates an avionics framework developed for mass production and quick turn-around time. About 70% of the subsystems are built inhouse, while all the system design and its testing and qualification were completed in-house.
“Azista started off by manufacturing satellite components and electronics for ISRO’s Space Applications Centre (SAC) in Ahmedabad and then we decided to venture into building an entire satellite,” added Male.
“AFR is the first remote-sensing satellite the company launched and it will deliver a panchromatic image with a resolution of five metres and a swath of 70 kilometres,” Bharath Simha Reddy P, ABA’s Business Development Manager, said.
There are plans to launch 3-4 missions over a period of 2-3 years to illustrate the capabilities of the company’s satellite payloads and be leader in this space domain.
“With this launch, we are taking one step towards making India Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) and a push towards the “Make in India” initiative for the global market,” added Brig. Bharadwaj.
Gearing up for Future launches
“The teams at Azista and Azista BST are preparing for the mass production of satellites,” Male added. “This undertaking displays our competence to gather, incorporate sophisticated technologies from its collaborators and successfully construct, keep the satellites aloft. Our earnest endeavour to work in the domain of advanced and intricate technologies reflects that with determination and cooperation among teams, we can overcome the arduous challenges in space.”
ABA has the manufacturing capacity of developing around 100 microsatellites per year, the weight of each spacecraft is likely vary from 50 to 200 kg, which makes it India’s largest satellite manufacturing facility. Besides, it also provides subsystem support to other satellite-makers in India. ABA plans to develop manufacturing units for tiny satellites, which can be used for military as well as civilian use.
Sunil Indurti, director of Azista BST Aerospace, stated, “ABA 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.”
Male said, “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.”
ABA is working on different projects for defense requirements and for remote sensing they will be launching their own constellation, so that data can be provided to the end users. “We have the roadmap to develop and manufacture the satellites with the capability of sub meter resolution, which will be launched next year,” added Brig Bharadwaj.
He further added, “We have one of the state-of-art manufacturing facility in Gujarat built by any private entity in India, which is around 80, 000 sq. ft. and we are acquiring around 50, 000 sq. ft. more to make it capable of supporting the production of 2 satellites per week.”
Azista BST Aerospace is already in the process of releasing the next set of satellites to demonstrate its capabilities with versatile payloads with its modular satellite buses. Several of these satellites will be launched within the next 12-24 months to establish space heritage and solidify vertically integrated production capabilities from India.
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