HYDERABAD: Hyderabad-based spacetech startup Cosmoserve Space on Thursday inaugurated India’s first private facility for developing and testing technologies to capture defunct satellites, remove space debris and service spacecraft in orbit. Named Base 1, the facility is the sixth of its kind globally, according to the company.
Inaugurated by Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh and IT Minister D Sridhar Babu, the facility brings together infrastructure for designing, building and testing satellite servicing systems. It houses an Orbital Rendezvous and Capture Lab, a Space Robotics Innovation Lab, an ISO Class 8 clean room and a Mission Simulation and Control Centre. The infrastructure will support the development of robotic systems to capture defunct satellites, as well as technologies for in-orbit repairs and refuelling.
Sridhar Babu said the state government planned to introduce a Space Technology Policy within a year. Hyderabad was home to more than 30 spacetech companies working in areas such as launch vehicles, space data centres and debris removal. He also announced that space technology would be the 34th sector covered by the industry-led Young India Skills University.
Cosmoserve is developing a dual-spacecraft system in which a larger orbital station will serve as a refuelling and logistics hub, while smaller autonomous vehicles will capture, inspect, repair or remove satellites. The company aims to begin commercial debris removal operations by early 2028, after technology demonstration missions.
The need for such services is growing as defunct satellites and fragments crowd Earth’s orbit, threatening operational spacecraft and future launches. Cosmoserve estimates that nearly 10,000 of the approximately 28,000 satellites in orbit are non-operational. Its technology is being designed to handle debris ranging from 10 cm fragments to satellites weighing up to 500 kg.
“What is the point of building bigger rockets and developing capabilities to colonise the Moon and Mars if we cannot even cross our orbits?” said founder and CEO Chiranjeevi Phanindra.
