16 February 2023 (SINGAPORE, SG) India-based Full-stack Space-Engineering solutions provider Dhruva Space and France-based strategic equipment supplier Comat have inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) marking a collaboration where both companies will engage in a bilateral technology exchange for diversity in market access and Space solutions.
As part of its Space-as-a-Service offering, Dhruva Space builds satellite platforms up to 300 kg with multi-payload configurations, widening the company’s scope to work with any payload. In November 2022, Dhruva Space successfully deployed two satellites Thybolt-1 and Thybolt-2 onboard ISRO’s PSLV-C54. Solar power generation is the predominant means of power generation on Space assets. Unlike the conventional Earth-bound solar panels, the formulation of Space-grade solar panels is much more complex. Dhruva Space has been building LEO-optimised spacecraft solar arrays for micro and mini class of satellites, and in 2020, the company became the first private Indian company to secure an end-to-end order for Space-grade solar arrays.
Comat’s plug-and-play reaction wheels of various form factors are designed for detumbling, attitude control, and torque or angular rate control of satellites. These systems are fully characterised and qualified according to the European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS), and are designed to operate in the Space environment for eight years. Additionally, Comat’s SADM 400 is a plug-and-play Solar Array Drive Mechanism for small satellites to optimise onboard power generation. It has unlimited rotation (slip ring), offers compact accommodation, and a five-year lifetime.
As per the MoA, both companies will share their technologies – Dhruva Space’s Space-grade Solar Arrays for power generation, and Comat’s Reaction Wheels for attitude determination and Solar Array Drive Assembly for optimisation of onboard power generation – with each other, enabling access to market and commercial opportunities for each other while jointly offering diverse solutions to third-party customers.
Looking forward to the partnership ahead, Ludovic Daudois, CEO, Comat, shares, “Comat and Dhruva Space are committed to high standards in terms of reliability, innovation and operational efficiency. Through this partnership, our complementary skills will allow us to provide world-class equipment and services to satellite operators customers in the region.”
Sanjay Nekkanti, CEO, Dhruva Space, adds, “The signing of an MoA with Comat is emblematic of the convergence of views from both French and Indian industries, marking a new phase of growth and collaboration between Comat and Dhruva Space. Cooperation between India and France’s Space entities took root in the 1960s, and we look forward to a fruitful collaboration with the dynamic team at Team Comat.”
