Agnikul Cosmos, ICEYE to co-develop SAR earth observation technology for India

India's private full-stack space transportation company Agnikul Cosmos has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Europe-based ICEYE to explore building, launching and operating Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) earth observation systems from India.

The partnership aims to explore ICEYE's SAR satellite expertise and its establishment of satellite manufacturing capabilities in India and Agnikul's full-stack responsive launch capabilities, a company release said.

“Previously, building and launching a satellite system privately in India mostly meant piecing together foreign technology and waiting on timelines that we as a nation did not control,” said Srinath Ravichandran, Co-founder and CEO of Agnikul Cosmos.

Ravichandran said the partnership aims to change that equation. Applications such as disaster response, sensitive area monitoring and security are national priorities, and India deserves sovereign capabilities to support them, he added.

The collaboration goes beyond a single mission and aims to create a repeatable, integrated infrastructure by combining manufacturing, launch and operational capabilities under one ecosystem, according to Moin SPM, Co-founder and COO of Agnikul Cosmos.

"We can create a repeatable model that can support long-term deployment programmes for customers in India and around the world. This is the kind of integrated infrastructure the global space industry increasingly demands," he said.

“India is an important market for us as demand for sovereign intelligence capabilities continues to grow globally,” Rafał Modrzewski, Co-founder and CEO of ICEYE.

Partnerships built around speed, reliability and long-term execution are becoming increasingly important in these times, he highlighted the need for collaboration.

Agnikul added ICEYE to a growing portfolio of international commercial partnerships spanning customers across India, the Middle East, and Australia advancing its ambition to become one of the world's leading space transportation companies, the release said.

India represents a key Asia-Pacific manufacturing hub opportunity for ICEYE, which can help it produce for global markets.

ICEYE operates the world's largest SAR satellite constellation, with over 70 satellite launches. It has delivered sovereign satellite constellations to seven governments across Europe, including Poland within 12 months of contract signing, Sweden, and Germany.