Tata's First Step In Space Sector: Made-In-India TSAT-1A Launched By SpaceX, To Deliver High-Resolution Optical Satellite Images

Elon Musk's SpaceX launched 11 satellites on its Bandwagon-1 mission to orbit from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday (7 April) night including Tata Advanced Systems Limited’s (TASL) TSAT-1A.

TASL later announced successful deployment of TSAT-1A satellite into space, which was made in partnership with Satellogic Inc. The collaboration between TASL and Satellogic was signed in November 2023.

This marks TASL's "first step" in space sector. Earth observation satellite TSAT-1A is the first built-in-India Sub-metre Resolution Optical Satellite to reach orbit.

It highlights "Satellogic’s expertise to develop and integrate an advanced Earth Observation satellite in India and TASL’s capability to undertake complex system integration."

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.

It is tailored for Indian defence forces and will enhance their discreet information acquisition capabilities. A ground control centre is now being established to facilitate guidance and image processing. 

A total of 11 spacecraft were launched by SpaxeX including KOREA's 425Sat, HawkEye 360’s Clusters 8 & 9, Tyvak International’s CENTAURI-6, iQPS’s QPS-SAR-7 TSUKUYOMI-II and Capella Space’s Capella-14.

This was the 14th flight of the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched SES-22, ispace's HAKUTO-R MISSION 1, Amazonas-6, CRS-27, and nine Starlink missions.