Dhruva Space to integrate solar panels on Pixxel's upcoming satellite fleet

Dhruva Space, a Hyderabad-based full-stack spacetech startup, has entered into a strategic partnership with Pixxel, an Indian startup building the world's highest-resolution hyperspectral satellite constellation. 

The homegrown collaboration will see Dhruva Space joining forces with Pixxel to integrate Space-grade solar panels into their next satellite fleet.

Dhruva Space indigenously designs and develops small satellites and key subsystems, including Space-grade Solar Panels. The startup said that its Solis+ panels are engineered for high-performance power generation in orbit. 

It claims that Solis+ is built with high-efficiency (up to 30%) triple-junction GaAs solar cells and is designed to operate reliably in the extreme conditions of Space. Precision-manufactured in-house at Dhruva Space’s facility in Hyderabad, these panels offer power capacities in the range of several kilowatts, making them ideal for larger classes of satellites and spacecraft.

In November 2024, Dhruva Space successfully delivered a Solis+ order to the Government of India and is currently fulfilling export orders for customers in the United Arab Emirates, Austria, Australia, and France, a strong indication of growing global market traction.

Designed for daily global revisit and high spectral fidelity, Pixxel’s upcoming fleet of satellites builds on the success of its Firefly satellites launched in 2025, which marked the world’s first 5-meter commercial hyperspectral imagery. 

Kshitij Khandelwal, Founder and CTO, Pixxel, said, “Power systems are mission-critical, and there’s no room for errors in space. As we expand our capabilities, we're building with partners who bring deep technical ability and a shared focus on mission readiness, and Dhruva Space exemplifies both.” 

“This collaboration reflects a shared drive to engineering excellence and a commitment to delivering high-quality, accessible satellite data to those tackling global challenges. It also marks an important step in strengthening India’s space hardware ecosystem and building resilient infrastructure to support critical needs on Earth,” Khandelwal added. 

“This partnership represents the best of India’s NewSpace capabilities coming together,” adds Abhay Egoor, Chief Technology Officer & Co-founder, Dhruva Space.

“Dhruva Space’s Solis+ technology, designed for Low-Earth Orbit and high-mission durability, is a result of years of indigenous R&D and Spaceflight heritage. Two high-performance players from India’s private Space sector collaborating at this level signals the maturing of the ecosystem. This is not just a hardware agreement; it’s a signal to the global market that Indian Space-Tech companies are building with flight heritage, scalability, and export readiness in mind. Dhruva Space is proud to be enabling a fellow NewSpace leader with reliable, mission-critical power systems.” 

Abhay continues, “Dhruva Space is currently setting up a first-of-its-kind Spacecraft manufacturing facility in South Asia, spread across 6.5 acres with a built-up area of 280,000 sq. ft. Of the total area, 30,000 square-feet is dedicated to the design and development of Space-grade Solar Arrays, while 40,000 square-feet will serve as a full-fledged Assembly, Integration & Testing (AIT) zone with parallel bays for simultaneous integration of spacecraft of up to 500 kg classes. This facility is a major step toward Dhruva Space’s goal of enabling vertical integration and scalable spacecraft production from Indian soil.” 

This partnership highlights the growing interdependence of Indian private Space companies and their increasing role in building globally competitive Space infrastructure.

Pixxel is a space data company and spacecraft manufacturer redefining Earth observation with hyperspectral imaging. With the successful launch of its first three commercial hyperspectral satellites, Fireflies, the startup is building a constellation of 18-24 satellites designed for a daily revisit frequency anywhere on Earth. This constellation will deliver the world’s highest-resolution hyperspectral imagery, enabling industries to detect, monitor, and predict critical global phenomena across agriculture, oil and gas, mining, environment, and other sectors with 50x richer detail than conventional satellites. 

In addition to its Earth observation capabilities, Pixxel also designs and manufactures advanced small satellites, pushing the boundaries of spacecraft technology for a range of applications.

Pixxel has raised US$95 million from M&G Catalyst, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Google, Aditya Birla Ventures, Google, Lightspeed, Radical Ventures and others.