Dhruva Space Partners with France's Sodern ArianeGroup to Boost Satellite Tech

Dhruva Space, a full-stack Space Engineering solutions provider  has partnered with France’s Sodern ArianeGroup, a global expert in space and defence instruments.

As part of Dhruva Space’s flagship Launching Expeditions for Aspiring Payloads (LEAP) program, which helps global clients get their payloads into orbit faster, Sodern will send its new HORUS star tracker on a Dhruva Space mission planned for 2026.

The HORUS payload will be installed on Dhruva Space’s homegrown P-30 nanosatellite, which uses a flexible, modular design. Key parts of the satellite—like its electronics, power, and control systems—were tested and approved for space during the 2024 LEAP-TD mission on ISRO’s PSLV-C58 POEM-3 launch. 

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Sodern’s HORUS payload includes a high-tech sensor designed for telecom satellites, offering precise and independent attitude (position) tracking in space.

At the same time, Dhruva Space has chosen Sodern’s radiation-resistant Auriga star tracker as its main tool for determining satellite orientation in several upcoming missions.

"This contract signing fits perfectly within the strategic relationship between India and France and proves the importance of space collaboration between our countries. Dhruva Space was selected as the ideal partner to launch our high-end HORUS star tracker on its inaugural IOD smallsat mission, and we are eager to see HORUS in action,” said Vincent Dedieu, Chairman & CEO, Sodern ArianeGroup.

"HORUS's high performance and autonomy offer exceptional robustness and make it particularly well-suited to telecommunications platforms...We are also proud that our Auriga star tracker meets Dhruva Space’s expectations and has been selected for future Indian satellites and missions. The Auriga star tracker, with a legacy of 1,800 units in operation, is specifically designed to reduce costs while offering excellent technical performance and reliability,” Dedieu added.

Sanjay Nekkanti, CEO & Co-founder of Dhruva Space, added, “The Indo-French partnership in Space has always been one of mutual respect, technical excellence, and long-term vision, and one I have been inspired by since before beginning my career in Space-Tech. Dhruva Space’s collaboration with Sodern represents yet another landmark chapter in this legacy. By combining Dhruva Space’s modular satellite architecture with Sodern’s flight-proven attitude determination systems, we’re enabling faster, more reliable mission deployment for customers and advancing in-orbit innovation at scale."

The partnership was announced during the official business visit to France and Italy, led by Minister Piyush Goyal, who encouraged deeper collaboration between India and France in manufacturing and Deeptech.

Dhruva Space took part in this visit, represented by CEO and Co-founder Sanjay Nekkanti, who also serves as Co-Chair of FICCI’s Space & Geospatial Data Committee.

Dhruva Space provides satellites, ground stations, and launch services—either as a complete package or as separate tech solutions—to support space-based applications on Earth and beyond.

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