KOYO: Advancing HEX20’s Flight Heritage

KOYO, a satellite developed by HEX20 for the National Central University (Taiwan), is now successfully operating in orbit following its launch aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-17 mission. The spacecraft is performing as designed, marking another significant milestone in HEX20’s journey of building and operating space-qualified satellite platforms.

The mission brings together technologies and payloads from international partners, including Aegiverse’s Fiber Optic Gyroscope (FOG), Amplified Space’s configurable power system, ET Space Power’s solar cells, and an amateur radio digipeater supporting the Taiwan amateur radio community.

Beyond its mission objectives, KOYO serves as an important in-orbit validation of several HEX20-developed flight technologies and further builds the flight heritage of the AX CubeSat Platform.

Building on NILA, Advancing with KOYO

NILA established the foundation for HEX20’s spacecraft development journey. KOYO takes that experience forward.

Insights gained from the first mission have been incorporated into the design, engineering, testing, and execution of the next generation of spacecraft. KOYO represents the continued evolution of our approach, with a focus on improved reliability, stronger engineering practices, and greater confidence in mission execution.

This milestone is a result of the collective efforts of the HEX20 team, the confidence placed in us by our customers and partners, and the continued support of IN-SPACe. We are grateful to everyone who has contributed to making this mission possible.

The Teams Behind KOYO

A spacecraft reaching orbit is the result of collaboration across multiple disciplines, organisations, and areas of expertise. Every subsystem, component, interface, test, and piece of flight hardware represents the contribution of teams working together towards a common mission objective.

It is also a reflection of the strength of the Indian space ecosystem, where growing capabilities, skilled talent, and collaborative partnerships continue to enable ambitious missions.

The development of KOYO was supported by a network of specialised partners contributing expertise across critical areas of spacecraft development. From antenna matching and solar cell characterization to PCB fabrication, board assembly, electronics fabrication, soldering, battery characterization, and structural components, each partner brought specialised capabilities to the mission. Contributions from Verdant Telemetry and Antenna Systems, CSIR-NIIST, Reyan Aerospace, Hi-Q Electronics, Bendra Aerospace, Hi-Rel Tech, Sivavasu Electronics, AdvancedPCB, Vivitron Energy, Rajesh, Neocam Solutions, Aaditya Aerospace, and Riz Tech collectively supported the development and integration of KOYO.

Each contribution helped move KOYO through its development journey — from individual components and assemblies on the ground to a fully integrated spacecraft operating in orbit.

Strengthening the Space Ecosystem

KOYO also reflects the growing capabilities of India’s space ecosystem. The mission demonstrates how specialised organisations, engineering teams, technology providers, and space companies can come together to deliver increasingly sophisticated space missions.

As HEX20 continues to develop and deploy spacecraft for customers and partners around the world, we look forward to building on these relationships, expanding our capabilities, and working together to enable the next generation of missions.

Follow KOYO in Orbit

KOYO’s mission dashboard provides access to live satellite telemetry and mission data. Explore the KOYO Mission Dashboard: https://koyo.hex20.space/

As KOYO continues its operations in orbit, HEX20 is already working towards the missions ahead. The next countdown has already begun.