ICEYE chooses India for sovereign Synthetic Aperture Radar mission; picks Agnikul Cosmos as launch partner
Chennai-headquartered Agnikul Cosmos and ICEYE, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the potential to build, launch and operate Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
Chennai-headquartered Agnikul Cosmos and ICEYE, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore the potential to build, launch and operate Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) earth observation systems from India. The MoU was signed at Bharat Innovates in Nice, France. “Previously, building and launching a satellite system privately in India mostly meant piecing together foreign technology and waiting on timelines that we, as a nation, did not control,” said Srinath Ravichandran, co-founder and CEO of Agnikul Cosmos. “This partnership aims to change that equation. Applications such as disaster response, sensitive area monitoring, and security are national priorities, and India deserves sovereign capabilities to support them,” he adds. “Global companies are now looking at India, through Agnikul, as a source of space tech capability. ICEYE looked at what’s being built here and decided Agnikul’s technology could take their SAR systems from manufacturing through launch and operations, entirely from India, “Moin SPM, co-founder and COO of Agnikul Cosmos told The Hindu.
“We’re working through mission planning with ICEYE now, and the intent from day one was a repeatable model, where each successful deployment makes the next one faster to plan and execute. We’ll share specifics on the launch manifest once it firms up,” he added. Moin further said: “The SAR missions under this collaboration will fly on Agnibaan, our small satellite launch vehicle. It’s built to carry payloads like SAR systems to orbit on demand, which is exactly the kind of dedicated, mission-configured launch that a sovereignty-sensitive programme like this requires.” Agnikul contributes reusable launch infrastructure built around single-piece 3D-printed rocket engines that reduce manufacturing time from months to days, the kind of responsiveness that global satellite operators increasingly seek. ICEYE brings proven sovereign satellite technology that seven governments across Europe have already staked their national intelligence capabilities on, having delivered Poland’s sovereign SAR constellation less than 12 months after contract signing, one of the fastest sovereign satellite deployments globally.
Together, the companies would combine responsive launch infrastructure with proven SAR technology to create a new model for sovereign space capabilities from India. “India is an important market for us as demand for sovereign intelligence capabilities continues to grow globally. Partnerships built around speed, reliability, and long-term execution are becoming increasingly important in these times and this is what we seek to build with Agnikul,” said Rafał Modrzewski, co-founder and CEO of ICEYE. ICEYE operates the world’s largest SAR satellite constellation, having launched over 70 satellites and has delivered sovereign satellite constellations to seven governments across Europe, including Poland within 12 months of contract signing, Sweden, and Germany. Future plans When asked about Agnikul’s future plans, Mr. Moin said: “We’re doubling down on testing and enhancing our launch capabilities, running through the validation work to get ready for orbit. Alongside that, we’re scaling production, building out manufacturing capacity, and growing our commercial pipeline with customers in India and abroad, including the kind of repeatable, multi-mission partnerships we’re building with ICEYE.” Agnikul Cosmos Private Limited is an IIT Madras-incubated company that builds space transportation.
The BriefWire