SpaceX’s Falcon ferries Tata’s optical satellite successfully

NEW DELHI: Tata Advanced Systems Limited on Monday announced the “successful deployment” into space of its sub-metre optical satellite that was assembled and tested in India.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched TSAT-1A satellite from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, in the US on Sunday (April 7), Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) said in a statement.

“TSAT-1A will deliver high-resolution optical satellite images with increased collection capacity, dynamic range, and low-latency delivery through its multispectral and hyperspectral capabilities,” the company said.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, TASL is a significant player for aerospace and defence solutions in India.

TASL, India’s leading private sector player for aerospace and defence solutions, and Satellogic Inc, a leader in sub-metre resolution Earth Observation data collection, “today announced the successful deployment into space of TASL’s TSAT-1A satellite aboard the Bandwagon-1 mission, which SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket”, the statement said.

TSAT-1A was assembled in TASL’s Assembly, Integration and Testing (AIT) plant at its Vemagal facility in Karnataka, it said.

This achievement follows the collaboration agreement signed between TASL and Satellogic in November, leveraging Satellogic’s expertise to develop and integrate an advanced Earth Observation satellite in India and TASL’s capability to undertake complex system integration, it added.

“This milestone shows TASL’s commitment to the space sector. This is a first step. Our partnership with Satellogic has enabled us to deliver an assembled and tested in India, best-in-class, sub-metre optical satellite which was launched by SpaceX. We are grateful for the support we have received from various Indian government authorities for required permissions,” TASL CEO-MD Sukaran Singh was quoted as saying in the statement.