BENGALURU: Private launch vehicle company Agnikul Cosmos has signed an MoU with Finnish space technology firm ICEYE to explore building, launching and operating Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Earth observation systems from India.The partnership aims to combine ICEYE’s expertise in manufacturing SAR satellites with Agnikul’s indigenous launch capabilities to create an end-to-end sovereign space capability, reducing dependence on foreign launch providers and overseas schedules.ICEYE operates the world’s largest SAR satellite constellation, with more than 70 satellites in orbit, and has delivered sovereign satellite constellations to seven European governments.SAR satellites use radar instead of optical cameras, allowing them to capture high-resolution images of the Earth’s surface regardless of cloud cover or time of day. They are widely used for disaster management, border surveillance, environmental monitoring and defence applications.The companies said they would explore establishing satellite manufacturing in India and launching the satellites aboard Agnikul’s rockets. They also plan to develop a repeatable satellite-to-launch model that could support long-term deployment programmes for Indian and international customers.“Previously, building and launching a satellite system privately in India mostly meant piecing together foreign technology and waiting on timelines that we as a nation did not control. Applications such as disaster response, sensitive area monitoring and security are national priorities, and India deserves sovereign capabilities to support them,” Srinath Ravichandran, co-founder and CEO, Agnikul Cosmos, said.Agnikul co-founder and COO Moin SPM said the collaboration was designed to go beyond a single mission. “By combining manufacturing, launch and operational capabilities under one ecosystem, we can create a repeatable model that can support long-term deployment programmes for customers in India and around the world,” he said.ICEYE co-founder and CEO Rafal Modrzewski said India was an important market as global demand for sovereign intelligence capabilities continued to grow. “Partnerships built around speed, reliability and long-term execution are becoming increasingly important, and this is what we seek to build with Agnikul,” he said.Agnikul said the agreement expands its portfolio of international commercial partnerships across India, the Middle East and Australia. For ICEYE, it offers an opportunity to establish India as an Asia-Pacific manufacturing base for satellites serving both domestic and global markets.
