Dhruva Space Set to Launch First Commercial Mission LEAP-1 with Indo-Australian Strategic Collaboration Aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9
LEAP-1 marks Dhruva Space’s first commercial mission, featuring advanced AI and hyperspectral payloads from Australia-based Akula Tech and Esper Satellites. These will be hosted on Dhruva’s indigenously developed P-30 satellite platform and launched aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 in Q3 2025.
[Hyderabad, India] (04 August 2025) Full-stack Space Engineering solutions provider, Dhruva Space is set to launch its first commercial Space mission, LEAP-1, marking a significant milestone in the company’s journey from successful technology demonstrations to customer-driven satellite deployments.
Dhruva Space’s LEAP-1 mission on the indigenously-developed P-30 satellite platform will fly two distinct missions:
- Akula Tech’s Nexus-01 mission comprising an advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) module, and
- Akula Tech’s Esperesso hyperspectral imager developed by Esper Satellites for OTR-2
The LEAP-1 mission is officially slated to launch aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 in Q3 2025, marking not just a significant Indo-Australian collaboration, but also growing support from the United States in Dhruva Space’s global commercial journey.
This milestone mission is Dhruva Space’s first commercial deployment following the successful in-orbit qualification of its P-30 satellite bus during the LEAP-TD mission on ISRO’s PSLV-C58 POEM-3 in January 2024. The transition from qualification to commercial operations cements Dhruva Space’s commitment to offering hosted payload solutions at scale for global customers. Dhruva Space’s hosted payload offering integrates Ground Station-as-a-Service (GSaaS) and its proprietary Integrated Space Operations & Command Suite (ISOCS) for real-time mission management and payload data downlinking.
Global Tech, Earth to Orbit
This mission represents a collaborative leap forward: combining Akula Tech’s pioneering AI technology with Esper Satellites’ hyperspectral imaging capabilities, and deploying them on Dhruva Space’s modular and payload-agnostic P-30 platform. This fusion of technologies addresses a wide range of applications across defense, disaster response, agriculture, mining, and environmental management.
Akula Tech’s AI module introduces a new benchmark for on-orbit intelligence. It is capable of on-board data processing and AI/ML model re-training using satellite-generated data, offering significant speed advantages for time-sensitive missions. Esper Satellites’ imager, meanwhile, is set to redefine remote sensing with its ability to deliver highly detailed, spectrally-rich Earth Observation data via Esper’s EarthTones API.
Dhruva Space also proudly unveils the official LEAP-1 mission patch, designed to symbolise the synergy of Indo-Australian-American collaboration and forward-thinking innovation. The patch blends the visual identities of the partner organisations with key motifs representing hyperspectral Earth Observation, AI, and Space heritage, while also reflecting not just the heart of the LEAP-1 mission, but also its purpose, forging strategic partnerships to serve humanity through Space.