What Exactly Is a Small Satellite?
When we think of satellites, we often picture massive, multi-billion-dollar machines, painstakingly built over years. While those still exist, the new stars of the space industry are the small satellites, or 'smallsats'. Generally, any satellite weighing
less than 500 kilograms falls into this category. They are further classified by size, from minisatellites (100-500 kg) down to nanosatellites and CubeSats, which are modular, 10-centimetre-cubed units that can be stacked together. The key isn't just that they are smaller, but that this reduction in size and mass leads to a dramatic drop in manufacturing and launch costs. This has opened up space, once the exclusive domain of government agencies and giant corporations, to startups, universities, and developing nations.
The Old Way vs. The New Way
Traditionally, Earth observation relied on a few large, highly-capable satellites. These were powerful but had a major drawback: revisit time. A single satellite might only pass over a specific point on Earth once every few days or even weeks. This 'snapshot' approach was useful but limited. Small satellites change this paradigm by making it affordable to launch not just one, but a whole constellation—a network of dozens or even hundreds of satellites working together. Instead of a single snapshot, these constellations can provide a near-continuous stream of data, enabling us to monitor changes on the planet's surface almost in real-time.
A New Eye on India
The impact of this high-frequency data is immense, particularly for a country as vast and dynamic as India. In agriculture, satellite imagery can monitor crop health, assess soil moisture, and forecast yields with unprecedented accuracy, helping farmers optimise resource use. For disaster management, the applications are life-saving. During floods or cyclones, having up-to-date images of affected areas can guide rescue efforts and assess damage far more quickly than ground teams alone. This technology is also transforming urban planning, helping to monitor infrastructure projects, track land use changes, and manage resources more effectively in India's rapidly growing cities.
India's Booming Private Space Ecosystem
Recognising this massive opportunity, India has opened its space sector to private participation, leading to a surge in innovative startups. Companies like Hyderabad-based Dhruva Space are building satellite platforms and ground infrastructure, providing end-to-end solutions for various applications. Another key player, Bengaluru and US-based Pixxel, is deploying a constellation of hyperspectral imaging satellites. These advanced sensors see beyond what the human eye can, capturing data across hundreds of spectral bands to identify everything from specific crop diseases to invisible gas leaks. This private-sector boom is complemented by ISRO, which has developed the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), designed specifically for launching small satellites on-demand, reducing the previous reliance on 'piggy-backing' on larger rocket launches. Most recently, the successful launch of Vikram-1 by Skyroot Aerospace marked India's first orbital rocket launch by a private company, a major milestone for the sector.
