Hyderabad-based startup Cosmoserve Space on Thursday opened 'Base 1', a facility it describes as India's first private centre, and only the sixth in the world, with space-vision systems and microgravity simulation for satellite servicing and debris recovery, The Hindu reported.
Union Minister of State for Science, Technology and Space Jitendra Singh and Telangana IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu inaugurated it. The "first" and "sixth in the world" descriptions are the company's own.
What is inside
Base 1 houses an Orbital Rendezvous and Capture Lab, a Space Robotics Innovation Lab, an ISO Class 8 clean room for satellite integration, and a Mission Simulation and Control Centre. Besides debris recovery, it will work on in-orbit repairs, refuelling and maintenance of satellites.
The company's design pairs a larger Orbital Service Station with a smaller Autonomous Service Vehicle. Cosmoserve estimates the approach could cut the cost of servicing a satellite from about $10 million to under $1 million.
Why it matters
Founder and CEO Chiranjeevi Phanindra said orbital debris is one of the biggest problems facing the space industry. Of the nearly 28,000 satellites now in orbit, about 10,000 no longer work, while millions of fragments threaten active spacecraft, he said.
Sridhar Babu said Hyderabad now has more than 30 companies working on launch vehicles, space data centres and debris-removal systems.
What next
The facility follows a $6-million seed round, Indian Startup Times reported, with the company aiming to begin commercial operations by 2028. Before that, it plans to test its robotic capture systems on microgravity flights, re-fly its Mission Embrace payload and conduct a full-scale debris capture demonstration by 2027, The Hindu reported.