Hyderabad: Full-stack space engineering solutions provider from Hyderabad Dhruva Space is set to launch its first commercial space mission LEAP-1. It is being launched with an Indo-Australian strategic collaboration aboard Falcon 9, which belongs to SpaceX that is owned by billionaire Elon Musk.
Dhruva Space’s LEAP-1 mission on the indigenously-developed P-30 satellite platform will fly two distinct missions: Esper Satellites’ OTR-2 mission featuring a hyperspectral imager and Akula Tech’s Nexus-01. The launch marks a significant milestone in Dhruva Space’s journey from successful technology demonstrations to customer-driven satellite deployments.
The LEAP-1 mission is officially slated to launch aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 in the third quarter of 2025. The mission is Dhruva Space’s first commercial deployment following the successful in-orbit qualification of its P-30 satellite bus during the LEAP-TD mission on ISRO’s PSLV-C58 POEM-3 in January 2024.
The Hyderabad-based company has now transitioned to commercial operations and the latest development has cemented its commitment to offering hosted payload solutions at a global scale for customers.
What is Dhruva Space’s LEAP-1?
The LEAP-1 mission is a collaborative effort combining Akula Tech’s pioneering AI technology with Esper Satellites’ hyperspectral imaging capabilities, and deploying them on Dhruva Space’s modular and payload-agnostic P-30 platform. These technologies will address a wide range of applications across defense, disaster response, agriculture, mining, and environmental management, said the Hyderabad-based company in a press release.
“LEAP-1 represents a major milestone for Esper as we launch our fourth satellite mission with OTR-2, following the successful deployment of OTR-1 and our dual-satellite OTR-X mission. What makes this achievement even more remarkable is that we’ve funded our entire OTR campaign for under $1 million, proving that cutting-edge hyperspectral Earth Observation technology can be both accessible and cost-effective,” said Shoaib Iqbal, Co-founder and CEO, Esper Satellites.
Sanjay Nekkanti, CEO & co-founder, Dhruva Space, said that the new collaborative approach drives innovation, brings down costs, and invests in commercial capabilities to grow the business opportunities that can serve other customers and further foster a global Space economy. “India is already a key economic and regional partner and we see this mission symbolic of India’s status as a fast-growing Space program,” he stated.
The company’s satellites are equipped with advanced edge-AI capabilities and designed for fully autonomous operations, supporting a wide range of applications including Earth observation, communications, national security, defence, emergency response, and commercial sectors such as mining, logistics, and infrastructure.
Dhruva Space Private Limited is a full-stack Space Engineering solutions provider based in Hyderabad, India. The company is active across space, launch, and ground segments and supports civilian and defense clients worldwide. Esper Satellite Imagery is a Melbourne based startup focusing on collecting hyperspectral imagery from micro satellite constellations to supercharge industries with environmental data.
Akula Tech is a Melbourne-based space and defence technology company pioneering the development of software-defined, intelligent satellite systems.
