Bengaluru space tech start up building ‘space taxis’

Bengaluru: City-based Bellatrix Aerospace is creating ‘space taxi’ or satellite taxis.

Officially called ‘Orbital Transfer Vehicle’ (OTV) by the startup, these will be taxying multiple satellites to its intended orbit from the main launch vehicle that will be taking them into space from Earth.

Presently, satellites are carried by a launch vehicle into space. Smaller satellites are tagged along with bigger ones. However in cases where their orbits vary from each other then the launch vehicle has to burn more fuel to carry and inject them in their slots.

OTVs will change this. Smaller satellites will be placed inside an OTV which in turn will be placed within the main launch vehicle.

After the main launch vehicle reaches space, the OTV will blast out of it and carry the satellites to its orbit.

The first OTV will be launched by the Indian Institute of Science-based Bellatrix in 2023 atop the ‘Vikram’ rocket being developed by another space startup based in Hyderabad – Skyroot Aerospace.

Bellatrix also has joint space missions agreement with Dhruva Space.