Dhruva Space obtains IN-SPACe authorizations for Ground Station as a Service

Space Engineering solutions provider, Dhruva Space has secured authorization from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) to provide Ground Station as a Service (GSaaS).

This new authorization allows Dhruva Space to empower private Indian companies by offering cost-effective access to satellite data, which is crucial for accelerating their internal research and development efforts.

Dhruva Space has designed and set up six ground stations that operate in Very High Frequency (VHF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) bands and two ground stations in S and/or X bands.

Established in 2021, Dhuva Space’s S&X Ground Station at IIT-Hyderabad is now a base of the company’s ground segment solutions. The facility will be instrumental in supporting the company’s upcoming LEAP-1 hosted payload mission scheduled for later in the year.

The firm is also in talks with several global ground station operators to expand its current network into a global network of earth stations providing unfettered access to operate satellites from anywhere in the world, and vice-versa.

Setting up ground stations involves high upfront costs; however GSaaS will provide shared infrastructure while reducing financial barriers for satellite operators.

Additionally, there is difficulty in scaling ground station capabilities based on given mission needs. In response to this, the mission-agnostic approach of Dhruva Space offers GSaaS with a flexible service model, enabling satellite operators to adjust their ground station resources as needed.