Bengaluru’s Aule Space Is Building India’s In-Orbit Servicing Future
What if satellites could simply plug into a power bank instead of drifting away when they run out of fuel? That’s the idea driving a Bengaluru startup building “jetpack” satellites designed to latch onto ageing spacecraft, take over their propulsion duties and keep billion-dollar assets working years longer .
The Invisible Crisis Above Us
For satellite operators, running out of fuel doesn’t necessarily mean a spacecraft has reached the end of its life. In many cases, expensive communication satellites remain fully functional—their electronics, sensors, and communication systems still working perfectly—but can no longer maintain their assigned orbital positions because they have exhausted the propellant needed for station-keeping .
Once that happens, operators are forced to retire assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Geostationary communication satellites cost more than $300 million to build and generate significant annual revenues, yet the industry operates on a disposable model: when fuel runs out, the satellite becomes orbital driftwood . There are satellites worth over $100 billion in geostationary orbit alone .
Aule Space’s “Jetpack” Solution
Bengaluru-based deep-tech startup Aule Space has found another way . Instead of attempting the far more complicated task of refuelling satellites in orbit, Aule’s approach is to send a smaller “jetpack” spacecraft that docks with an existing communications satellite and assumes responsibility for station-keeping using its own propulsion system .
“We’re trying to build satellites which can go and dock to existing satellites in space which don’t have any installed ports… and extend their life so that they can keep generating revenue,” said CEO Jay Panchal. “It’s like a power bank,” he added .
The challenge lies in docking with satellites that were never designed to be serviced. Rather than relying on dedicated docking ports, Aule will attach its spacecraft to the liquid apogee motor (LAM) nozzle, a standard external feature found on most geostationary satellites . If successful, each docked “jetpack” could extend a satellite’s operational life by up to five years .
Validated at ISRO’s SpaDeX Facility
The startup recently completed a major milestone by testing its camera-based guidance, navigation and control system at the Rendezvous Simulation Laboratory (RSL) at ISRO’s ISITE—the same facility where key elements of India’s SpaDeX docking mission were validated .
“We were the first non-govt entity to access RSL. This is the best kind of on-ground testing we can do for these capabilities,” Panchal said .
One of Aule’s key differentiators is its reliance on computer vision instead of multiple specialised sensors. Current docking systems typically use LiDAR, infrared cameras, and other sensors. Aule says its spacecraft will perform the critical final approach using a single optical camera powered by onboard AI . The visual navigation models are trained using data generated in its own facilities and validated at ISRO’s testbed before being deployed in orbit .
Building at a Fraction of the Cost
Aule Space was founded in 2024 by Jay Panchal, Nithyaa Giri, and Hrishit Tambi—a team with experience at Pixxel, the European Space Agency, and other organisations . The company has raised $2 million in a pre-seed round led by pi Ventures, with participation from angel investors including former Intelsat board member Eash Sundaram and Tonbo Imaging CEO Arvind Lakshmikumar .
In just eighteen months, the startup has validated its technology at ISRO’s facilities and reached Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6, a widely used scale originally developed by NASA . “Once we successfully demonstrate docking in orbit next year, we’ll reach TRL 9,” Panchal says, adding that’s when the company will start to sign commercial contracts .
Operating out of India, with its engineering base here, gives Aule cost advantages that are critical in a cost-sensitive economy . The company aims to perform missions at roughly one-twentieth the cost of comparable global solutions—around $20-30 million per mission .
The Road Ahead
The company is targeting an in-orbit demonstration next year, when it plans to launch two satellites that will autonomously dock in low-Earth orbit . Panchal claims it could be the world’s first private mission to perform non-cooperative docking in LEO using camera-only navigation . The mission will validate technologies that Aule ultimately intends to deploy around geostationary communication satellites .
Beyond commercial applications, the startup is also seeing defence interest in its tech, particularly for satellite inspection and space security . The company has received early-stage support from India’s space ecosystem, including seed funding from IN-SPACe .
The on-orbit satellite servicing market is expected to reach approximately $5.5 billion by 2030 . Aule Space’s journey is a powerful signal that India’s private space ecosystem is moving beyond launch services into the next phase of the space economy: orbital infrastructure and sustainability. “We want to show that India can build this capability end to end,” Panchal said. “Once that happens, the in-orbit economy becomes very real” .
