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Bellatrix Aerospace plans a Rs 550 Cr satellite and propulsion centre at Lepakshi in Andhra Pradesh
The Bengaluru propulsion maker signed an MoU at the CII Partnership Summit for an Advanced Programs Centre on 120 acres, with 565 jobs planned by December 2030.
Bellatrix Aerospace, the Bengaluru company that builds in-space propulsion systems, plans to set up an Advanced Programs Centre at Lepakshi in Andhra Pradesh's Sri Sathya Sai district. The memorandum of understanding was signed by CEO Rohan M Ganapathy on 13 November at the 31st CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam, The Economic Times reported. The centre will focus on satellites and propulsion.
The project is worth Rs 550 crore and is expected to create 565 jobs, according to The Economic Times. Business Standard added that it will sit on 120 acres and that the 565 jobs are planned by December 2030. A state government source quoted by Business Standard described the regional plan this way: engines built near Tirupati, tested for reuse at Thimmasamudram, and propulsion systems developed at Lepakshi, all on the Hyderabad to Bengaluru corridor and within reach of Sriharikota.
Bellatrix was founded in 2015 by Ganapathy and Yashas Karanam, according to the US State Department's Span magazine and Forbes India. It works on electric and green chemical propulsion. Forbes India has reported that its Hall effect thrusters are aimed at small satellites, that a microwave plasma thruster uses water as propellant for larger satellites, and that the company runs a space simulation facility inside the Indian Institute of Science campus in Bengaluru. Forbes India also reported a Series A of about $8 million in 2022 from investors including BASF Venture Capital, Inflexor and Pavestone Capital, and Span has reported that the company is expanding into the United States with a new subsidiary.
Bellatrix is one of four space companies that signed MoUs with the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board at the summit, alongside Astrobase Space Technologies, Hathor Rockets and XDLINX Space Labs. The Economic Times put the four space MoUs at Rs 2,200 crore and 1,765 direct jobs together. Business Standard tied the deals to the state's Space Policy 4.0 (2025 to 2030), which aims to draw Rs 25,000 crore into the sector and is backed by a Rs 100 crore SpaceTech Fund.
An MoU is a statement of intent rather than a finished investment. The things to watch are land handover at Lepakshi, the first phase of construction, and which satellite and propulsion programmes Bellatrix moves to the new centre from Bengaluru.
