Thiruvananthapuram: When Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Monday afternoon carrying 64 small satellites into low orbit in one swoop, it was a proud moment for Keralites as well.
One of the satellites that was confirmed to have deployed successfully was developed by Exseed Space, a Mumbai-based start-up founded by Kris Nair, a native of Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthapuram. The nanosatellite ExseedSat-1 is the first satellite in India that was entirely designed and built in the private sector.
The company tweeted: “Exseed Sat-1's "V for Victory" Morse code ping has been heard from over 675 kilometres away. Our baby's first cry. Bring out the bubbly, folks!
ExseedSat-1 was the only Indian satellite to be part of the mission which marked the deployment of most satellites ever in a single launch in the history of the US space programme.
ExseedSat-1, weighing about 1 kg, will cater to amateur radio operators from across the world. Exseed Space is also part of the ISRO project for developing 27 satellites with private partnership.
A nanosatellite or nanosat weighs from 1 kg to 10 kg, whereas a microsatellite or microsat has mass of 10 kg to 500 kg.