Chennai-based space startup Agnikul Cosmos has partnered with Finnish synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite company ICEYE to explore building, launching and operating radar earth observation satellite missions from India. The partnership is expected to help reduce India’s reliance on foreign manufacturing and overseas launch providers for its strategic space programmes as the European company expands its plans to make India a manufacturing and deployment hub for its global satellite business.
The partnership aims to combine ICEYE’s SAR satellite technology with Agnikul’s launch capabilities to develop an end-to-end offering spanning satellite manufacturing, launch and operations. The companies said the partnership is aimed at both sovereign and commercial missions in India and overseas.
The agreement comes as ICEYE looks to establish India as its Asia-Pacific satellite manufacturing hub. In an interview with PTI in May, co-founder and chief executive Rafał Modrzewski said the company plans to set up its first Indian manufacturing facility within the next year, alongside a local supply chain, to produce satellites for both domestic and international customers. He said the facility would complement ICEYE’s existing manufacturing operations in Europe and the US.
“India is an important market for us as demand for sovereign intelligence capabilities continues to grow globally. Partnerships built around speed, reliability and long-term execution are becoming increasingly important in these times and this is what we seek to build with Agnikul,” said Modrzewski. The Agnikul partnership adds indigenous launch capability to that effort.
Reducing foreign reliance
For Indian strategic programmes, the partnership could allow satellites to be manufactured and launched from India rather than relying on overseas manufacturing or foreign launch providers. The partnership also helps position India as a manufacturing and launch base for international customers. In addition, it highlights how India’s private space industry is moving beyond individual technologies towards integrated capabilities spanning satellite manufacturing, launch and space-based services.
“As a launch vehicle company, we connect you from the ground to space. But from space to the ground, somebody has to do that. Having a partner that has been doing this for a while and proving its capacity gives us the leverage to think about bigger missions,” Moin SPM, co-founder and chief operating officer of Agnikul, told Mint.
He said the agreement establishes a framework for pursuing future missions rather than a one-off commercial contract. “It is not going to be just an MoU (memorandum of understanding). It is a continuing business model. We are joining hands to deliver missions that the country demands as well as what the world wants,” Moin said.
Founded in Finland in 2014, ICEYE operates one of the world’s largest commercial SAR satellite constellations, with more than 70 satellites in orbit. Unlike optical satellites, SAR satellites can capture images through cloud cover and at night, making them useful for defence, border surveillance, disaster management and environmental monitoring.
The company has deployed sovereign satellite systems for several European governments including Poland, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands, and earlier in June announced a funding round of more than €1 billion to expand its sovereign intelligence and satellite manufacturing business.
The Agnikul agreement follows ICEYE’s partnership with Hyderabad-based Dhruva Space, covering satellite manufacturing and downstream space infrastructure, and reflects the Finnish company’s broader strategy of building partnerships across India’s private space ecosystem.
Sector taking flight
India’s commercial space sector has gained momentum since it was opened to private participation in 2020. According to the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), more than 400 space startups are now active across launch vehicles, satellites, earth observation and downstream applications. The government has introduced a ₹1,000 crore venture fund for space startups and is increasingly encouraging private participation in satellite constellations and launch services.
Founded in 2017 and incubated at IIT Madras, Agnikul is among a handful of Indian startups developing orbital launch vehicles for small satellites. The company carried out the maiden launch of its Agnibaan rocket from India’s first private launch pad at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, in May 2024 and is preparing for its first commercial orbital mission. The startup is also developing reusable launch technologies aimed at reducing the cost and increasing the flexibility of small satellite launches.