IN-SPACe selects Dhruva Space, Astrome, Azista to develop satellite bus platform

India’s space regulator, Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), has selected Dhruva Space, Astrome Technologies and Azista Industries to develop indigenous small satellite bus platforms under its Satellite Bus as a Service (SBaaS) initiative.

Each company will receive a grant of Rs 5 crore to support the development and demonstration of a modular and scalable small satellite bus designed to host multiple payloads.

The SBaaS initiative was announced in April 2025 through an Announcement of Opportunity that invited proposals from Indian Non-Governmental Entities. Fifteen proposals were received by July 2025, IN-SPACe said, with three companies shortlisted following a multi-stage evaluation process.

IN-SPACe signed contracts with the selected firms on February 11, formally launching implementation under the scheme.

“The Satellite Bus as a Service initiative marks an important step in building a robust, sustainable, and globally competitive small satellite manufacturing ecosystem in India,” said Pawan Goenka, Chairman of IN-SPACe.

“By enabling indigenous satellite bus platforms and integrating them with India’s emerging small satellite launch capabilities, we are laying the foundation for India to become a preferred global destination for end-to-end small satellite manufacturing, launch, and hosted payload services,” he added.

IN-SPACe said the platforms developed under the SBaaS programme would serve as cost-effective, standardised options for both domestic and global customers seeking hosted payload services.

Under the scheme, grants will be disbursed in milestones and the selected companies will receive access to infrastructure, testing facilities and technical expertise from the Department of Space and ISRO as required.

Recently, IN-SPACe signed a concession agreement with Pixxel and Allied Orbits, a special-purpose vehicle formed by a Pixxel-led consortium, to establish an Earth Observation constellation under a public-private partnership framework.