TAPAS-1

Why in News?

SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California shortly after midnight in India on 3 October 2026 as part of the Transporter-18 smallsat rideshare mission. Among the 130 payloads onboard was TAPAS-1, developed by Ahmedabad-based space-tech startup Satleo Labs. TAPAS-1 is described as India’s first commercial private thermal-imaging payload and has been placed in a 500-km Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

About TAPAS-1

TAPAS stands for Thermal Access Platform for Analytics & Solutions. It is a thermal-infrared camera developed by Satleo Labs over approximately 12 months. The payload will capture high-resolution images of heat and temperature variations at locations across the Earth.

TAPAS-1 is a CubeSat-category payload. CubeSats are small, modular satellites generally built using standardised units and commercially available components. A typical one-unit CubeSat measures approximately 10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm, roughly the size of a Rubik’s Cube.

The payload has been placed in LEO, which generally extends from about 160 km to 2,000 km above Earth’s surface. Its thermal-imaging capability can support applications requiring the detection and analysis of temperature and heat variations from space.

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