Australian Earth-observation company LatConnect 60 announced two agreements in India that expand its operational and commercial presence in the Indian market during the Bengaluru Space Expo 2026 on September 7. The first agreement covers satellite operations infrastructure, while the second gives the company a local channel to provide Earth-observation data, analytics and shortwave infrared products to defense, security and intelligence customers.
Indian Ground Infrastructure for the SWIRSAT Missions
LatConnect 60 signed an agreement with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of India’s space program, to provide telemetry, tracking and control services for the SWIRSAT-1 and SWIRSAT-2 spacecraft. According to the announced schedule, the first satellite is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2027, and the second in the second quarter of the same year.
The agreement enables the company to use NSIL’s ground-station infrastructure in India to support mission operations and satellite data-downlink requirements. India will thereby become a node within the ground infrastructure that LatConnect 60 relies on to operate the SWIRSAT constellation and process the resulting data. The announcement did not provide additional details about the station locations or the agreement’s commercial terms.
A Channel to Reach India’s Defense Sector
In a separate agreement, LatConnect 60 entered into a strategic partnership with GeoSyze EO Solutions LLP, an Indian company working in geospatial technologies, satellite data, geospatial intelligence and analytics aimed at defense, security and intelligence applications.
GeoSyze will act as a strategic adviser and distribution-channel partner, exploring and facilitating the delivery of LatConnect 60’s Earth-observation datasets, future SWIR products and advanced analytics to the Indian defense market. This indicates that the agreement is not limited to selling existing imagery or data, but also includes products the company intends to develop as the constellation expands.
What Changes in Practice?
The agreements combine two different but complementary tracks: supporting satellite operations through infrastructure connected to India’s space program, and gaining commercial access to local users through a specialized partner. The move is significant because the company is expanding the SWIRSAT constellation rather than treating India as a sales market separate from its space operations.
LatConnect 60, headquartered in Perth, plans to build a constellation of 18 satellites by 2029, with a longer-term path exceeding 100 satellites by 2035. The company is developing SWIRSAT within an ecosystem that combines space-based data collection, ground infrastructure, data processing and artificial-intelligence-enabled analytics, with announced applications in defense, agriculture, resources, the maritime sector and the environment.
The two agreements were announced at the opening of the Bengaluru Space Expo, held from September 7 to 9 and organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with ISRO, IN-SPACe and NSIL. Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Philip Green OAM, and representatives of Australian government and commercial entities also attended the signing ceremony. The announced launch dates and future expansion plans remain the company’s timetable targets and are not evidence that the constellation has been completed or that all commercial products have begun being offered.