The Ministry of Defence will collaborate with a private firm working in the space sector for design and development of a “miniaturised satellite” capable of carrying multiple payloads up to 150 kg.

The collaboration will follow a contract inked with SpacePixxel Technologies.

Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), the flagship initiative of the ministry, signed the landmark 350th contract here on Tuesday.

“The contract was inked with SpacePixxel Technologies Pvt Ltd for design and development of a miniaturised satellite capable of carrying electro-optical, infrared, synthetic aperture radar and hyperspectral payloads up to 150 kg,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

The 150th iDEX contract was signed in December 2022, and within a span of 18 months, the 350th contract has been signed, it said.

The contract was exchanged between Additional Secretary (Defence Production) and CEO, Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO), Anurag Bajpai, and founder and CEO of SpacePixxel Technologies Awais Ahmed Nadeem Alduri in the presence of Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane and other senior civil and military officials of the ministry.

SpacePixxel has been actively working to build and launch high-resolution hyperspectral imaging satellites to provide detailed earth observation data, the statement said.

“This 350th iDEX contract enables innovation in space electronics, wherein many payloads earlier deployed on dedicated large satellites are now being miniaturised.

 The modular small satellite will integrate multiple miniaturised payloads as per requirement, providing advantages like faster and economical deployment, ease of manufacturing, scalability, adaptability and less environmental impact,” it said.