Bengaluru-based Spacetech startup Pixxel launches ‘Shakuntala’ satellite with SpaceX’s Falcon-9 rocket

A SpaceX rocket carried a low-orbit imaging satellite built by Bengaluru-headquartered startup Pixxel into space on Friday, a first for the company to place a slew of satellites in space to track earth phenomena, particularly climate change.

The full-fledged commercial satellite was launched onboard Falcon-9 rocket of Elon Musk-run SpaceX from Cape Canaveral in the US. The launch took place under SpaceX`s Transporter-4 mission.

The ‘Shakuntala’ satellite is a low-orbit imaging satellite, installed with one of the highest-resolution hyperspectral commercial cameras ever flown to space. This will help to track the invisible changes of Earth like deforestation, natural gas leakages, pollution, declining crop health, melting ice caps, and other data critical for climate change assessments.