Agnikul Cosmos and ICEYE Partner to Build and Launch SAR Satellites from India

Key facts

• Agnikul Cosmos (Agnikul) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Finnish space technology firm ICEYE to build, launch, and operate Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Earth observation systems from India.
• SAR satellites use radar instead of optical cameras to capture high-resolution images of the Earth's surface regardless of cloud cover or time of day.
• SAR technology is utilised for defence applications, border surveillance, environmental monitoring, and disaster management.
• ICEYE operates the world's largest SAR satellite constellation with more than 70 satellites in orbit and has delivered sovereign satellite constellations to seven European governments.
• The partnership aims to establish India as an Asia-Pacific manufacturing base for satellites and create a sovereign space capability to reduce dependence on foreign launch providers.