Published: October 3, 2026
StartupFeed Quick Take
- Dhruva Space deployed LEAP-2 into orbit at 1:00 AM IST on October 2, 2026.
- The P-30 satellite carries 2 payloads: SatLeo’s TAPAS-1 and a Sodern star tracker.
- The platform hosts payloads up to 20 kg, 12U in volume and 50 W of power.
Dhruva Space deployed its LEAP-2 satellite into low Earth orbit at 1:00 AM IST on October 2, 2026, carrying two customer payloads for the Hyderabad company.
The mission lifted off earlier that morning at 12:02 AM IST aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9, on the Transporter-18 rideshare from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Dhruva Space confirmed the timings in its LEAP-2 mission page.
LEAP-2 is the company’s second commercial mission on the P-30 satellite bus. The first, LEAP-1, flew in August 2025.
The satellite carries two payloads. One is TAPAS-1, a thermal infrared imager from SatLeo Labs. The other is a star tracker from Sodern, a French firm owned by ArianeGroup.
SatLeo, based in Ahmedabad, calls TAPAS-1 India’s first dedicated commercial thermal payload. It senses surface temperature for uses such as crop-stress checks and urban heat mapping. The mission will test the sensor in orbit.
The P-30 platform hosts payloads up to 20 kg in mass, 12U in volume and 50 W in power. Dhruva Space built the bus in India and space-qualified it on ISRO’s PSLV-C58 flight in January 2024.
Dhruva Space is one of India’s few full-stack space firms. It designs satellites, makes deployers and runs ground stations as a service.
What this means for you: If you run a space or satellite data startup, LEAP-2 is a working, lower-cost route to orbit for a payload. Track TAPAS-1’s in-orbit results before you book a hosted slot of your own.
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