Dhruva Space Set to Launch First Commercial Mission LEAP-1 with Indo-Australian Strategic Collaboration Aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9

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LEAP-1 marks Dhruva Space’s first commercial mission, featuring advanced AI and hyperspectral payloads from Australia-based Akula Tech and Esper Satellites. These will be hosted on Dhruva’s indigenously developed P-30 satellite platform and launched aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 in Q3 2025.

[Hyderabad, India] (04 August 2025) Full-stack Space Engineering solutions provider, Dhruva Space is set to launch its first commercial Space mission, LEAP-1, marking a significant milestone in the company's journey from successful technology demonstrations to customer-driven satellite deployments.

Dhruva Space’s LEAP-1 mission on the indigenously-developed P-30 satellite platform will fly two distinct missions:

• Akula Tech’s Nexus-01 mission comprising an advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) module, and
• Esper Satellites’ OTR-2 mission featuring a hyperspectral imager.

The LEAP-1 mission is officially slated to launch aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 in Q3 2025, marking not just a significant Indo-Australian collaboration, but also growing support from the United States in Dhruva Space’s global commercial journey.

This milestone mission is Dhruva Space’s first commercial deployment following the successful in-orbit qualification of its P-30 satellite bus during the LEAP-TD mission on ISRO’s PSLV-C58 POEM-3 in January 2024. The transition from qualification to commercial operations cements Dhruva Space’s commitment to offering hosted payload solutions at scale for global customers. Dhruva Space’s hosted payload offering integrates Ground Station-as-a-Service (GSaaS) and its proprietary Integrated Space Operations & Command Suite (ISOCS) for real-time mission management and payload data downlinking.

Global Tech, Earth to Orbit

This mission represents a collaborative leap forward: combining Akula Tech’s pioneering AI technology with Esper Satellites’ hyperspectral imaging capabilities, and deploying them on Dhruva Space’s modular and payload-agnostic P-30 platform. This fusion of technologies addresses a wide range of applications across defense, disaster response, agriculture, mining, and environmental management.

Akula Tech’s AI module introduces a new benchmark for on-orbit intelligence. It is capable of on-board data processing and AI/ML model re-training using satellite-generated data, offering significant speed advantages for time-sensitive missions. Esper Satellites’ imager, meanwhile, is set to redefine remote sensing with its ability to deliver highly detailed, spectrally-rich Earth Observation data via Esper’s EarthTones API.

Dhruva Space also proudly unveils the official LEAP-1 mission patch, designed to symbolise the synergy of Indo-Australian-American collaboration and forward-thinking innovation. The patch blends the visual identities of the partner organisations with key motifs representing hyperspectral Earth Observation, AI, and Space heritage, while also reflecting not just the heart of the LEAP-1 mission, but also its purpose, forging strategic partnerships to serve humanity through Space.

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“Aiming for launch, this mission signifies a new era in Artificial Intelligence-powered satellite technology, to help with Defence, emergency, climate and many other strategic objectives. This mission will be the first step towards Akula Tech’s vision of developing next-generation satellites in Australia,” comments Preetham Akula, CEO, Akula Tech.

Nishq Ravindranath, Chief AI Officer, Akula Tech, observes, “The Nexus-01 mission represents a breakthrough in Space-based Artificial Intelligence. Our Space-ready AI model optimization technology allows us to optimize and compress any Geospatial AI/ML models  to run efficiently on the edge in Space, supporting applications like fire detection, anomaly detection, and spectral analysis that provide near real-time insights to Government and Defence personnel. Furthermore, these models will improve themselves over time by continuously retraining on live sensor data. This launch will give flight heritage to five of our distinct software products while enabling the uplink of newer AI/ML models directly to the satellite throughout the mission lifetime. Most importantly, it establishes the foundation for an autonomous, coordinated constellation of Earth Observation satellites that work together as a swarm, essentially placing a Geospatial Intelligence analyst directly in Space to sense and detect critical features of interest.”

"LEAP-1 represents a major milestone for Esper as we launch our fourth satellite mission with OTR-2, following the successful deployment of OTR-1 and our dual-satellite OTR-X mission," adds Shoaib Iqbal, Co-founder and CEO, Esper Satellites. "What makes this achievement even more remarkable is that we've funded our entire OTR campaign for under $1 million, proving that cutting-edge hyperspectral Earth Observation technology can be both accessible and cost-effective."

Przemyslaw Lorenczak, Co-founder, Esper Satellites, adds, "This mission validates our lean approach to Space Technology development. Our hyperspectral imager aboard the LEAP-1 mission will deliver spectrally-rich Earth observation data through our EarthTones API, demonstrating how Australian innovation can compete on the global stage. The partnership with Dhruva Space provides us with the perfect platform to showcase our technology's capabilities while building towards our vision of a comprehensive hyperspectral constellation that will revolutionize environmental monitoring and industrial applications worldwide."

In anticipation of LEAP-1, Sanjay Nekkanti, CEO & Co-founder, Dhruva Space, says, “Following a successful qualification of the P-30 onboard ISRO’s PSLV-C58, Dhruva Space is excited to take its indigenously-developed P-30 satellite platform to global market. We are confident this multilateral, collaborative approach drives innovation, brings down costs, and invests in commercial capabilities to grow the business opportunities that can serve other customers and further foster a global Space economy. Teaming up with our commercial partners in Australia creates remarkable opportunities for Indo-Australian Space business, which will, in turn, foster a long-term partnership. India is already a key economic and regional partner and we see this mission symbolic of India’s status as a fast-growing Space program. We are also happy to share that our LEAP series of hosted payload missions continues to thrive, and we are observing traction from private Space players in India, Italy, France, and more.”

Nekkanti continues, “Dhruva Space would also like to thank ISRO and IN-SPACe for fostering an environment that engenders global Space partnerships from Indian soil. We also extend sincere gratitude to Mr Enrico Palermo, Head - Australian Space Agency, whose visit to our office in Hyderabad, India, in September 2022 led to a fruitful engagement with a delegation of Australian Space startups visiting us. This paved the way for several rewarding discussions around Indo-Australian Space business, which has, in turn, cultivated long-term partnerships. We’d also like to thank SpaceX for their support with regards to mission readiness.”

LEAP-1 marks a new chapter in Dhruva Space’s story: from building capability to delivering customer missions with impact. The company now stands at the cusp of scaling up its commercial payload hosting operations, enabling transformative possibilities in global Space applications.

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About Akula Tech

Akula Tech is a Melbourne-based space and defence technology company pioneering the development of software-defined, intelligent satellite systems. The company’s satellites are equipped with advanced edge-AI capabilities and designed for fully autonomous operations, supporting a wide range of applications including Earth observation, communications, national security, defence, emergency response, and commercial sectors such as mining, logistics, and infrastructure.
At the core of Akula Tech’s innovation is proprietary AI software and cutting-edge manufacturing expertise. By integrating intelligent autonomy into space systems, Akula Tech is redefining the satellite paradigm, making satellites faster, smarter, and more responsive to complex mission requirements. Akula Tech’s long-term vision extends beyond space, with active efforts underway to bring the same level of autonomy and intelligence to multi-domain platforms across air, land, and sea. The company is committed to enabling a future of trusted, heterogeneous autonomous systems that operate seamlessly across diverse environments.

About Esper Satellites

Esper Satellite Imagery is a Melbourne based startup focusing on collecting hyperspectral imagery from micro satellite constellations to supercharge industries with environmental data.

About Dhruva Space

Dhruva Space Private Limited is a full-stack Space Engineering solutions provider based in Hyderabad, India. The company is active across Space, Launch, and Ground segments and supports Civilian and Defense clients worldwide.

Dhruva Space offers Satellite/s coupled with Earth Station/s and Launch Service/s as an integrated solution or individually as technology solutions to power Space-based applications on Earth and beyond.  

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Media inquiries:

Divya-Kala Bhavani

divya@dhruvaspace.com

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