Mumbai: It will be a new chapter in Indian space history at 12.02am (IST) on Tuesday when

will launch the first

from India, ExseedSat-1.

The one-kg satellite, developed in Mumbai and integrated in Hyderabad, will be launched on board SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. The lift-off will be from Vandenberg Air Force base at California.

The satellite, with a communication payload, will provide a major boost to ham radio operators in the country. It has been designed and developed by Mumbai-based Exceed Space, which makes advanced small satellites and scientific spacecraft for commercial, government and academic customers.

Kris Nair, CEO of Exceed Space, told TOI the mission will launch more than 70 spacecraft from 35 organisations, including 15 microsats and 56 cubesats, making it the largest single rideshare flight to date from a US launch vehicle. Nair said the satellites are from 18 countries, including India, US, Australia, Italy, The Netherlands, Finland, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, UK, Germany, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Poland, Canada, South Africa and Brazil.

The satellites will be placed in a sun-synchronous low-earth orbit, he said.