Bengaluru: Bellatrix Aerospace, a Bengaluru-based in-space mobility company, unveiled its new GNR-series Star Tracker at the 9th edition of Bengaluru Space Expo (BSX) 2026, held from September 7 to 9 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC).
The Star Tracker was the key highlight of Bellatrix’s showcase, alongside the company’s advanced propulsion and spacecraft technologies, including Arka Hall Effect Thrusters, Rudra Green Propulsion Systems, a thruster pointing mechanism and valve technologies.
Bellatrix Aerospace developed several satellite subsystems in-house and flew them aboard its Harbinger mission, launched in March 2026. Among these was the GNR-series Star Tracker, which the company has now introduced as a commercial offering for satellite manufacturers and mission developers. Its introduction marks an expansion of Bellatrix’s portfolio beyond propulsion, bringing technology developed for its own missions to the wider space industry.
Speaking at the unveiling, Saurabh Nerkar, Head of the Avionics Department at Bellatrix Aerospace, who led the Star Tracker’s development alongside his team, said, “The GNR-series Star Tracker marks a significant step in strengthening our indigenous, in-house avionics capabilities. Designed to meet the evolving attitude determination and control requirements of spacecraft, it delivers a pointing accuracy of 10/50 arcsec (3σ), combining high performance with low power consumption. With built-in processing and power consumption of approximately 1W, one-tenth that of competing systems, it addresses the demanding power and computing constraints of spacecraft. This development reflects our commitment to building reliable, homegrown technologies for increasingly sophisticated missions.”
The Star Tracker was showcased alongside Bellatrix’s existing portfolio of space technologies, providing a view into the company’s broader capabilities and its continued investment in developing indigenous technologies for the evolving needs of the space industry.
Yashas Karanam, Co-founder and COO, Bellatrix Aerospace, said, “Satellite developers often face a trade-off when selecting a Star Tracker: achieving higher accuracy can mean accepting a larger form factor and higher costs. We developed our system to address this gap, combining precise attitude determination with a compact design, low power consumption and competitive pricing. Our own VLEO programme shaped these requirements, and we flew the system aboard Harbinger. We are now bringing this capability to customers who need high performance within the practical constraints of commercial satellite missions.”
At BSX 2026, Bellatrix presented live demonstrations of the Star Tracker, giving visitors a firsthand view of its operation and applications in spacecraft attitude determination. The company also showcased Arka, its series of Hall Effect Thrusters for electric propulsion, and Rudra, its HAN-based green propulsion system developed as an alternative to conventional hydrazine-based propulsion. Other exhibits included another live demonstration of the Thruster Pointing Mechanism (TPM), heaters, valves, printed circuit boards (PCBs) and diagnostic probes, highlighting the breadth of its in-house spacecraft engineering capabilities.
Together, the technologies presented at BSX 2026 highlighted Bellatrix Aerospace’s commitment to strengthening indigenous spacecraft capabilities and enabling more efficient and versatile in-space mobility.
