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Kerala's HEX20 launches KOYO satellite aboard SpaceX Transporter-17

18 July 2026National

Kerala-based spacetech startup HEX20 successfully launched its second satellite KOYO (Kinetic Optical Yaw Observer) aboard SpaceX's Transporter-17 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Carrying 81 payloads, KOYO is a multi-payload test platform for in-orbit technology validation, with payloads from partners in Taiwan (Aegiverse, National Central University), the USA (Amplified Space) and ET Space Power. Designed to operate 18-24 months, it validated HEX20 technologies including a new solar-panel deployment mechanism. It builds on NILA (2025), India's first private-sector rideshare satellite and Kerala's first privately built satellite.

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India's space regulator/promoter: IN-SPACe | ISRO HQ: Bengaluru | SpaceX Transporter = dedicated rideshare smallsat missions | KOYO = Kinetic Optical Yaw Observer

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Kerala startup HEX20 launched its second satellite KOYO (81 payloads) aboard SpaceX Transporter-17 from Vandenberg, building on its 2025 NILA satellite.

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