Technopark-based spacetech startup HEX20 launches second satellite

Trivandrum / July 13, 2026

Thiruvananthapuram, July 13: Following its first successful satellite launch last year, Technopark-based spacetech startup HEX20, which built India's first rideshare satellite in the private sector, has launched its second satellite for Taiwan’s National Central University.

The satellite, KOYO (Kinetic Optical Yaw Observer), was launched onboard SpaceX’s Transporter-17. It was deployed about an hour later after reaching the space. About 40 minutes from deployment, HEX20 received its first beacon signals, which were decoded by Satnogs amateur satellite community.  

HEX20 launched its first satellite ‘Nila’ in partnership with US launch provider Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) last year. ‘Nila’ is Kerala's first satellite from the private sector.

Shri Amal Chandran, Chief Executive Officer, HEX20, said: "KOYO represents another important step in establishing HEX20 as a trusted global satellite mission partner. Each successful mission expands our flight heritage, strengthens the maturity of our platforms, and reinforces our ability to deliver end-to-end satellite missions with speed, reliability, and engineering excellence. As demand for affordable and responsive access to space continues to grow, HEX20 is committed to enabling governments, research institutions, and commercial organizations to transform ambitious ideas into successful space missions."

Shri Anurag Reghu, CTO & Co-Founder, HEX20, said, “KOYO has performed as designed on orbit with over 1,500 beacon packets decoded, 75+ commands successfully transmitted from the ground, and the satellite currently undergoing commissioning for nominal operational mode.”

“The payload operations are scheduled to commence sequentially in week two. KOYO carries Taiwan-based Aegiverse’s Fiber Optic Gyroscope (FOG), USA-based Amplified Space’s configurable power system, a digipeater for the amateur community from Taiwan and Taiwan-based ET Space Power solar cells qualified in a HEX20-built solar panel. So far, the ET Space Power solar cells have performed to specifications,” he added.

Shri. Reghu said KOYO proved that the company had learnt from the first mission.

KOYO has also successfully space-qualified HEX20’s solar panel deployment mechanisms, which include a novel feedback mechanism, hinge design, deployable monopole rod antenna, and provided further heritage to the AX CubeSat platform.

Shri MB Aravind, Co-Founder & Director, HEX20, said the mission marks another major milestone for the company.

“It’s been an exciting week for the HEX20 team providing validation for the hard work they have been putting in on simultaneous product development and mission execution. NILA, our first satellite, was a great learning experience” he added.

“Every challenge, the team met with an engineering answer, not a workaround, but a better way to fly. That's what turned lessons into more reliable products. Our second mission increases the product reliability and demonstrates our ability to deliver end-to-end satellite missions as a service for our customers, with satellites that perform on orbit. We are grateful to IN-SPACe team for their continued support and guidance throughout the HEX20 journey,” he noted.

HEX20 has six more missions scheduled for launch in the next 12 months. These are NILA III- a CubeSat built to qualify UK-based OhmSpace’s propulsion system; SAISI — a ship identification satellite for National Central University in Taiwan; COSPAR-1 — a collaborative space weather measurement satellite in collaboration with multiple global entities through COSPAR; and Emirates Asteroid Mission Asteroid Impactor Probe.

Emirates Asteroid Mission is designed to image and impact the Asteroid Justitia flying along with the UAE’s Asteroid Mission. This mission will travel further than any MicroSat/CubeSat in human history.

HEX20’s own MAYA-V1 and DINK-N1 missions are designed as payload aggregator missions carrying multiple customer payloads in addition to HEX20’s own thermal and visible Earth imaging payloads which will start providing actionable Earth observation data for multiple applications.

HEX20 is Kerala’s first startup to partner with US launch provider Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) for launching its maiden satellite Nila, named after the culturally significant river in Kerala, as well as the Technopark building where it is located.

HEX20, which has its presence in US, UAE and Taiwan, has partnered with the domestic manufacturing network that plays a pivotal role in ISRO missions. HEX20 builds payload-agnostic satellite platforms and offers satellite mission-as-a-service and payload hosting capabilities for in-orbit demonstrations to its customers.

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