GalaxEye Launches World's First OptoSAR Satellite

Bengaluru-based space startup GalaxEye successfully launched its Mission Drishti satellite, the world's first OptoSAR platform, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from California on Sunday, May 3.

Weighing 190 kilograms, the satellite represents India's largest privately developed Earth observation spacecraft. It integrates electro-optical (EO) sensors, which capture high-resolution images in sunlight and clear conditions, with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors that enable all-weather, day-and-night imaging by penetrating clouds, smoke, and darkness using radar pulses. This combination, dubbed SyncFused OptoSAR by the company, addresses limitations of traditional systems by providing consistent data across varied environments.

The satellite supports applications in defense monitoring, agriculture, disaster management, maritime surveillance, infrastructure planning, and insurance assessments. It offers imagery with 1.5-meter resolution and can revisit global locations every seven to 10 days. Onboard artificial intelligence processing, powered by Nvidia's Jetson Orin platform, allows some analysis in orbit to speed up delivery of actionable insights to users.