SatLeo to Launch TAPAS-1 Thermal-Imaging Payload

Ahmedabad-based spacetech startup SatLeo Labs will launch its thermal-imaging satellite TAPAS-1 on 1 October 2026. The 3-kilogram payload will fly on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Transporter-18 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, United States, through Dhruva Space’s LEAP-2 platform.

Thermal Imaging Payload

TAPAS-1 is India’s first dedicated commercial CubeSat-category thermal payload. It will operate in a sun-synchronous orbit at about 500 km above Earth and will use a long-wave infrared sensor to map surface temperature from space.

Applications of Long-Wave Infrared Sensing

Long-wave infrared sensing is used for thermal data collection that is not visible in conventional optical imagery. The mission has planned uses in climate monitoring, agriculture, urban heat mapping, water stress monitoring, industrial monitoring, disaster monitoring, and forest-fire detection.

SatLeo Labs and Future Satellite Plan

SatLeo Labs was founded in Ahmedabad in 2023 by Shravan Singh Bhati, Dr. Ranendu Ghosh, and Urmil Bakhai. The company plans to launch eight more satellites of the same type by 2029 and aims to build a constellation of 10 to 15 thermal-imaging satellites. TAPAS-2 is already under manufacture for a mid-2027 launch.

Important Facts for Exams

• CubeSat is a standardised small-satellite format used for compact space missions.
• A sun-synchronous orbit is a near-polar orbit used by Earth-observation satellites.
• SpaceX Falcon 9 is a reusable orbital launch vehicle used for satellite deployment.
• Vandenberg Space Force Base is a United States launch site on the Pacific coast.

SatLeo Labs has secured funding of 60 crore rupees and has received Letters of Intent worth about USD 52 million. About 60% of these Letters of Intent came from international companies.