August 20, 2020
Started by Anirudh Sharma & Rahul Rawat in 2018 from their dormitory at Lovely Professional University, Digantara is India’s first air and space surveillance company.
The startup has received a grant of Rs 25 lakhs which will be used to develop space debris monitoring systems and the company’s expansion
New Delhi 0: SpaceTech startup Digantara Research and Technologies Pvt Ltd (Digantara) today announced that it has been incubated by SID (Society for Innovation and Development) at Indian Institute of Science, (IISc), India’s premier research institute. SID incubates deep science startups and nurtures them by providing mentorship and guidance along with required infrastructure and financial assistance. As a part of the incubation program Digantara has been offered a grant of INR 25 lakhs to support its ongoing research and product development.
Founded by Anirudh Sharma & Rahul Rawat in 2018 from their dormitory at Lovely Professional University, Digantara is India’s first air and space surveillance company which focuses on space tech solutions ranging from satellite component design, payload design and development, along with CubeSat design and fabrication services. The startup has developed India’s first In-orbit Space Debris Monitoring and tracking system, which is based on LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology. The monitoring system provides global real-time earth coverage by deploying a constellation of cost-efficient nanosatellites in LEO (Low Earth Orbit) and a space-based air surveillance payload for accurate tracking of both aircraft and space objects. The space-based debris monitor, unlike ground-based equipment, is not affected by the atmospheric distortions, weathers and can closely monitor debris of much smaller size between 1cm to 10cm present in the Low Earth Orbit ecosystem.
Anirudh Sharma, Co-founder, Digantara, says, “Space is a capital-Intensive Industry and it requires a lot of investment in terms of technology and research. Indian Institute of Science – SID has a legacy of nurturing deep tech startups. Along with the capital, the kind of hand holding and technology support we can receive from the institute is what made us inclined towards joining this program from the very beginning. Our initial involvement with IISc started with IISc MSME COE. We had received a grant of Rs 15 Lakhs from them for conducting the necessary research work on our space monitoring system. Our interest in IISc grew from there.”
With a comprehensive approach to long term space flight safety, Digantara will help international space agencies to track and map the space debris and minimize the major threat to the future of space exploration. Digantara has already delivered its first satellite system to Ecuadorian Space Agency – Satellite Structures. They also have signed an MoU with EXA – Ecuadorian Civil Space Agency to jointly develop technologies for advanced space systems and space robotics.
“From starting up in our dormitory at LPU to getting incubated at SID, IISc, our journey to conquer space with Digantara Space Technology has been a dream come true so far. I am thankful to our all the support that we have received over the years from our teachers, mentors and friends who have stood by us and given us a leg up. We are confident that this program will help us take Digantara to the next orbit. SpaceTech is one of the most exciting fields to be in today and we see a huge global opportunity in what we are doing, in just the next few years”, added Rahul Rawat, co-founder, Digantara.
Digantara intends to stay focused on the space technology market and aims to expand its presence in Europe and America by 2021. The startup further plans to secure seed level funding and formulate a roadmap to Series A funding in the coming year.
Source: https://indiaeducationdiary.in/digantara-gets-incubated-by-sid-at-iisc