DHRUVA SPACE MAKING A MARK

Hashtag Magazine catches up with the founders of Dhruva Space who are making waves with their innovative work.

In 2012, Dhruva Space Private Limited was founded by long-time friends Sanjay Nekkanti, Chaitanya Dora Surapureddy, Abhay Egoor and Krishna Teja Penamakuru. Upon finishing his dual-degree Master's programme in Space Engineering in Sweden and France, Nekkanti returned to India, determined to establish the country as a satellite-making capital of the world.

In 2015, through a separate consultancy endeavour for Thybolt, an electronic design lab in Hyderabad, Nekkanti reconnected with his friends (all of whom are alumni of BITS Pilani Goa). Having seen how there were no private space-tech manufacturers, the four friends and collaborators were determined to create the first Indian-made satellite and launch it from Indian ground. This paved the way for Thybolt to be absorbed into Dhruva Space in 2019, marking a new chapter in the space company's growth.

 

"When Dhruva Space started up in 2012, the market was not very receptive to space entrepreneurs trying to build a full solution therefore there was not much access to capital. At the time, the private Space sector was considered a 'very high-risk domain' and the consensus was such that there was no guarantee of a reward, recalls Nekkanti, the Chief Executive Officer.

A UNIQUE STARTUP