Hyderabad startup develops robotic spacecraft for space debris

HYDERABAD: Sending satellites into orbit is one challenge; cleaning up orbital debris is another. Hyderabad-based startup Cosmoserve Space has taken up the latter.

The company was founded by Dr Chiranjeevi Phanindra, a former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist. It is developing robotic spacecraft to remove defunct satellites and space debris.

“I am from Chataparru near Eluru. After completing MTech at IIT Kanpur, I joined ISRO and worked on several projects. I also served as deputy project director for Gaganyaan and represented India on the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee,” Phanindra told reporters.

He said the committee meetings made him realise the severity of the space debris problem. “Defunct satellites and junk material are creating a traffic jam in space. This is becoming a major threat to new satellites and future human missions. That meeting gave me the direction to start Cosmoserve Space,” he added.

According to him, there are more than 50,000 large objects and over 1.4 crore smaller fragments orbiting Earth. Only about 12,000 of these are functional satellites, while the rest are old rocket and satellite parts. These fragments, moving at high speeds, threaten active satellites and crewed missions.

“If the problem is not addressed, space exploration itself could come to a halt,” he warned.