Satlabs is building relay satellites to shorten the waiting period for Earth observation data
The Bengaluru-based company is developing a constellation of low-cost relay satellites that pass data between imaging satellites and users without waiting for a ground station pass.
Satlabs Space Systems, a Bengaluru-based spacetech startup founded in February 2023 by Saisree Eega and Sooraj Gopakumar, is developing a constellation of low-cost data relay satellites to shorten the waiting period for Earth observation data. While imaging satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) can capture images of a flood, a crop field, or a border within seconds, the data often takes hours to reach the ground due to the time it takes for the satellite to pass over a ground station.
Ground stations are scarce and expensive to build, making a relay solution necessary for applications in defence, agriculture, disaster response, offshore energy, and industrial connected devices. Satlabs aims to reduce latency from several hours to a few minutes, eventually reaching near real-time, by offering a constellation of around 150 relay satellites in LEO.
These satellites would hand off data to other satellites overhead, effectively turning intermittent contact into near-continuous communication. The company plans to provide an interface for customers to connect their own satellites and pull data through an API, eliminating the need for a dedicated transponder on board. The service is currently in development and not yet available.
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