Technopark-based small satellite manufacturing company HEX20 is all set to become Kerala’s first startup to partner with US launch provider Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) for launching its maiden satellite Nila, named after the culturally significant river in Kerala, as well as the Technopark building Nila where HEX20 is currently located at.

The satellite will be launched on the Transporter-13 mission, which has been scheduled for February 2025. With this mission, HEX20 marks the beginning of its hosted payload solutions.

To further augment its services, HEX20 plans to set up a ground station for satellite command and control at Marian College of Engineering, Menamkulam in the city. The data from the satellite will be received at the ground station. HEX20 is training a team of faculty members and students of the college in operating the ground station facility.

Noting that the state capital has a vibrant space sector ecosystem, Co-Founder & Director of HEX20, Shri M.B. Aravind, said HEX20 has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with academic institutions to foster talents in the area of small satellite development, sub system development, and ground station services.  

They have already inked pacts with Government Engineering College Barton Hill, Marian College of Engineering, Mar Baselios College of Engineering and Trinity Engineering College to train students. Discussions with the Indian Institute for Space Science and Technology (IIST) have also been initiated on possible areas of collaboration.

Shri Aravind said the startup is making the payload neutral platform for the Nila mission while SpaceX will be launching the spacecraft. The Nila mission will qualify HEX20’s indigenously developed sub-systems and a payload for in-orbit demonstration from German company Dcubed.  

Commenting on the technical consultations in space sector, another Co-Founder & Director of the company, Shri Anurag Reghu, said they have established links with not only regulatory/governmental institutions like IN-SPACe and New Space India Limited (NSIL), but also with State government bodies like Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) and Kerala Space Park (KSpace).  

“Towards the end of next year, we look forward to flying our 50 kg satellite on ISRO’s PSLV. Along with offering our customizable and high-performance spacecrafts and components, we aim to enhance current capabilities of institutions and private organizations globally through our FlatSats and capacity-building programmes”, he said.

“It’s a matter of pride that HEX 20, a space technology based company from Technopark in partnership with SpaceX, is all set for a satellite launch. In fact, there are so many such stories of the stupendous growth journey of various companies from the Technopark,” said Col Sanjeev Nair (Retd), CEO of Technopark.

“Also, to drive innovation and attract more companies in the field of space, defence, and aviation, the government is immensely supporting the cause through Kerala Space Park spearheaded by KSPACE in Technopark Phase IV. Thiruvananthapuram is a strategically important city of the country and is emerging as a space technology hub and supporting the growth of industries in these high-impact strategic domains,” he noted.

The CEO said the multi-domain clusters being developed in Phase IV are paving the way for Technopark Phase IV to become the “Destination Next” in Thiruvananthapuram.

The Kerala capital provides ample access to a good space ecosystem owing to the proximity of pivotal ISRO centres like VSSC, LPSC and IISU. Further, the world class facilities at Technopark have helped the company to grow faster.

Last year, HEX20 entered into a strategic collaboration with iSpace, inc. to stimulate demand for affordable lunar satellite missions across the globe. The MoU was inked at the 74th International Astronautical Conference (IAC) held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in October 2023. Japan-based iSpace, inc. is a global lunar resource development firm. HEX20’s partnership with the global major aims to leverage the combined technical prowess and regional network of the two pioneering companies. 

HEX20 has established partnerships with leading academic institutions such as National Central University in Taiwan and the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) in USA for developing this mission. 

Besides, aiming to give an impetus to the efforts to create a space ecosystem, HEX20 set up its state-of-the-art R&D facility at Technopark on May 1, 2023. This facility is well positioned to serve as the ultimate catalyst for innovation, collaboration and the pursuit of excellence in the field of space technology in the state.

HEX20, which has its presence in Australia, UAE and Taiwan has partnered with the domestic manufacturing network that plays a pivotal role in ISRO missions. HEX20 builds payload agnostic satellite platforms and offers satellite mission as a service and payload hosting capabilities for in-orbit demonstration to its customers. Its maiden launch in Feb 2025 as well as other missions already lined up for launch in 2025 and 2026 is bound to give momentum in developing the State into a thriving spacetech ecosystem.