Hyderabad: An indigenously built satellite battery pack developed by Hyderabad-based spacetech startup TakeMe2Space has become the first off-the-shelf satellite battery to earn flight heritage on a private Indian orbital launch aboard Skyroot Aerospace’s Vikram-1, marking a key milestone for India’s private space sector.PowerBank-50, a 50 Wh commercial battery, powered an experimental payload from Cosmoserve Space on the orbital adjustment module of Vikram-1 at about 450 km altitude.Vikram-1, which was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 18 as part of ‘Mission Aagaman’, became the first privately developed Indian rocket to reach orbit in its maiden mission.TakeMe2Space said the battery performed as designed through launch vibration, shock, vacuum, radiation and orbital temperature swings.PowerBank-50, which costs a little over Rs 1 lakh, stores more than 50 Wh in a 380-gram unit and includes lithium-ion cells, battery management electronics, cell heaters and an aluminium enclosure.According to the company, the packs can be stacked for CubeSats and microsatellites and support missions of up to five years in low Earth orbit.The company said the successful flight moves PowerBank-50 from a ground-qualified product to a space-proven component, a key requirement for satellite manufacturers, launch providers and insurers.“Every satellite mission lives or dies by its power system,” said Ronak Kumar Samantray, founder and chief executive of TakeMe2Space. He said Cosmoserve’s decision to fly the unit on Vikram-1 provided “the strongest validation” for the product.“Flying on the first private Indian rocket to reach orbit, and performing flawlessly at 450 km, is the strongest validation a product can earn. PowerBank-50 is now space proven, made in India, and ready for every satellite builder in the world,” said Samantray.Pointing out that “space proven” is the credential that matters most, he said in the satellite industry, flight heritage is the hardest credential to earn and the first question every buyer asks. “Satellite builders, launch providers and insurers are deeply reluctant to fly components that have never flown, because a single subsystem failure can end a multi-crore mission. This creates a well-known barrier for new suppliers: you cannot get heritage without flying, and you cannot fly without heritage. PowerBank-50 has now broken through that barrier,” he said.TakeMe2Space said the battery pack, which will be available off the shelf in India, will offer domestic satellite builders a lower-cost alternative to imported batteries with long procurement timelines for startups and universities.
