The Indian space tech start-up called ‘Pixxel‘ has recently launched its commercial satellite along with Elon Musk’s SpaceX- Falcon-9 rocket. The SpaceX rocket was built and developed by start-up Pixxel, headquartered in Bengaluru. It successfully launched its first-ever fully-fledged low orbiting imaging satellite ‘Shakuntala‘.

Shakuntala is now on its very own space journey. The satellite tracks various natural phenomena and climate change predictions. The Indian startup Pixxel that launched the Shakuntala satellite has a high-resolution hyperspectral camera, allowing it to develop a 24×7 health monitoring system for the earth. The high-resolution commercial camera is one of the first to have flown into space.

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The SpaceX Transporter-4 mission, also known as Falcon 9 rocket, carried off the Shakuntala satellite from Cape Canaveral in the United States. The successful launch of Shakuntala now puts the start-up Pixxel within close distance of its aspiring and motived mission to assemble one of the world’s most developed constellations of imaging satellites.

The space tech start-up Pixxel has had a long journey. It had gone from being one of the few finalists in the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition in 2017 to now launching its satellite. Pixxel’s vision and aim have been to speed up humanity’s expansion into space by making in-space assets and supplies available. They also aim to turn the world into a lively and sustainable place.

Shakuntala satellite, also known as TD-2, weighs less than 15 kgs. It can photograph orbital images in more than 150 bands of color. Shakuntala will begin to gather details while revealing the hidden changes creating damage on the earth. It can uncover changes like deforestation, air pollution, gas leakages, melting of glaciers, degradation of ecosystems, and decreasing plant health. Shakuntala will be able to predict a disaster before it occurs. For example, a famine before it leads to crop infestation or an oil spill before it endangers marine ecosystems.

With new developments and advancements in technology, Pixxel seeks to make the hidden changes visible as the world faces the worst effects of climate change. Pixxel aims to launch more satellites like Shakuntala in the year 2023. It will be able to achieve worldwide coverage by 2024 by launching more satellites. It will use the data uncovered by the satellites to develop an AI analysis platform. The start-up Pixxel is definitely one of a kind, helping the planet develop into a sustainable and eco-friendly place.