India's spacetech startup Dhruva Space partners with France-based Sodern ArianeGroup

Dhruva Space, the Hyderabad-based full-stack space engineering solutions provider, has entered into a strategic partnership with France-based Sodern ArianeGroup, a global leader in optical and inertial instrumentation for space and defence sectors.

Under Dhruva Space’s flagship Launching Expeditions for Aspiring Payloads (LEAP) initiative, which is designed to accelerate access to orbit for global customers, Sodern will deploy its next-generation HORUS star tracker on a Dhruva Space-hosted payload mission scheduled for launch in 2026.

The HORUS payload will be integrated onto Dhruva Space’s indigenously-developed P-30 nanosatellite platform, featuring a modular bus architecture. 

The satellite structure and mission-critical subsystems, including avionics, power systems, and ADCS interfaces, were Space-qualified through the LEAP-TD mission aboard ISRO’s PSLV-C58 POEM-3 launch in 2024. Sodern’s HORUS payload features an advanced APS (Active Pixel Sensor) Space Detector tailored for telecom platforms, providing autonomous and high-precision attitude sensing capabilities.

In parallel, Dhruva Space has selected Sodern’s radiation-hardened Auriga star tracker as its preferred attitude determination solution for a suite of upcoming satellite missions.

"This contract signing fits perfectly within the strategic relationship between India and France and proves the importance of space collaboration between our countries. Dhruva Space was selected as the ideal partner to launch our high-end HORUS star tracker on its inaugural IOD smallsat mission, and we are eager to see HORUS in action,” said Vincent Dedieu, Chairman & CEO, Sodern ArianeGroup 

"HORUS's high performance and autonomy offer exceptional robustness and make it particularly well-suited to telecommunications platforms...We are also proud that our Auriga star tracker meets Dhruva Space’s expectations and has been selected for future Indian satellites and missions. The Auriga star tracker, with a legacy of 1,800 units in operation, is specifically designed to reduce costs while offering excellent technical performance and reliability,” Dedieu added.

Sanjay Nekkanti, CEO & Co-founder of Dhruva Space, added, “The Indo-French partnership in Space has always been one of mutual respect, technical excellence, and long-term vision, and one I have been inspired by since before beginning my career in Space-Tech. Dhruva Space’s collaboration with Sodern represents yet another landmark chapter in this legacy. By combining Dhruva Space’s modular satellite architecture with Sodern’s flight-proven attitude determination systems, we’re enabling faster, more reliable mission deployment for customers and advancing in-orbit innovation at scale."

The partnership was announced during the official HCIM Business Delegation to France and Italy, led by Minister Piyush Goyal, who has called for stronger Indo-French engagement in manufacturing and Deeptech. Dhruva Space participated in this delegation with CEO & Co-founder Sanjay Nekkanti representing both the company and FICCI’s Space & Geospatial Data Committee as Co-Chair. 

Dhruva Space offers satellite/s coupled with earth station/s and launch service/s as an integrated solution or individually as technology solutions to power Space-based applications on earth and beyond.